HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) — A Manhattan family was distraught Thursday after learning that a body pulled from the Harlem River was 13-year-old Garrett Warren, one of two boys who went missing last Friday. It was the news Warren’s mother had been fearing for days.
“To find out that it was Garrett, the mother was inconsolable. It was horrible. She was on the floor. She was screaming. Other people were screaming,” said Lesha Sekou, the founder of the nonprofit Street Corner Resources.
It’s been nearly a week since Warren and his friend Alfa Barrie, 11, went missing near 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem. After hearing about a body found in the Harlem River, Barrie’s family went straight to the Madison Avenue Bridge near 135th Street.
A witness spotted Warren’s body Thursday morning. For most of the day, the families of Warren and Barrie were still searching and waiting for confirmation of the body’s identity.
“At this point, we are not going to say anything. We will let the investigation keep on going. We are going to go to 143rd [Street] and keep searching,” said Barrie’s uncle, Diallo.
With a tragic end for one family, the community is heartbroken.
“I feel bad and I sympathize with the parents of the child. It deeply hurts me and disturbs me,” a community member said.