Global Courant 2023-05-22 10:34:54
New York City police on Sunday continued their investigation into the deaths of two boys who were last seen together in Harlem but were found lifeless in waterways on opposite sides of Manhattan.
So far no foul play has been suggested, but aspects of the case are confusing.
Garrett Warren, 13, was reported missing on the afternoon of May 15, while Alfa Barrie, 11, was reported missing early the previous morning.
Warren’s body was found in the Harlem River, quite close to the area where the boys were last captured on security video in Harlem, on May 18, while Barrie’s remains were found on the other side of the island in the Hudson River near 102nd Street and Riverside Drive on Saturday, authorities said.
The two friends were seen on the night of May 12 at a fish market known to frequent on 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, witnesses said, according to NBC New York.
An employee of Ana’s Fish Market told the station that he saw the boys buying a few items at the store that night. He said they were regular customers in the business.
Police also said the two were captured by security video at 145th and Lenox, which was their last location reported by police, around 6 p.m. on May 12.
At a press conference on May 16, New York Police Department officials said the two were also seen on security video leaving the residence of one of the boys before video again picked them up at the intersection.
Detectives wanted to speak to members of a large crowd in the area the two passed through as they walked near 145th and Lenox that evening, police said.
Detectives had a long wish list of potential witnesses and sources last week. “We need to say that to everyone who was with them,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian Gill said at the news conference.
“We want to talk to their classmates,” he said.
The boys did not attend the same school, officials said.
On Sunday, the city’s Chief Medical Examiner’s office said Warren’s cause of death was drowning; manner of death was determined to be an accident.
Cause and manner for Barrie were pending, the office said in a statement. His body was examined on Sunday.
Relatives said the boys were neighborhood friends, even though their families didn’t know each other, according to NBC New York.
Members of both clans had helped search for the pair and handed out leaflets last week in the hope that they would be found alive.
Lindsey Pipia, Colin Sheeley and Yasmeen Persaud contributed.
