Although police officers were once optimistic about finding a missing Autistic boy from Queens, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly mentioned the force is "not hopeful" about finding him alive, CNN reported.
"Obviously we have devoted a tremendous amount of resources to the search," Kelly told WABC TV on Thursday. "Unfortunately, we are not hopeful that we're going to find this young man alive, but we are continuing our search."
Avonte Oquendo, 14, went missing on October 4 and was last seen running out of Center Boulevard School in Long Island City. Ever since his disappearance, police have used sniffer dogs, a search of the sewer system, and covered the city with fliers in an attempt to bring Oquendo back home.
Officers have dedicated a large portion of their search to rail yards, train stations, tracks, and tunnels after Oquendo's family expressed that the young boy has a fascination with trains.
Despite the lack of faith expressed by police, the boy's father said it won't stop him from searching endlessly for his missing son.
"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion," Daniel Oquendo said. "It's not going to slow us down, we're going to continue our search."
"If anything, it's going to make people work harder," the boy's father added.
The NYPD said all subway stations have been searched and aviation, harbor, and canine units have assisted. In addition to the missing person fliers plastered around New York, announcements have been made at stations to remind passengers to keep an eye out for Oquendo.
Vanessa Fontaine, the boy's mother, told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live" that she believed her son was still alive and that someone may have taken him.
"My message to my son is that I love him, and we're going to find him," she said. "You'll come home to your family. And for anyone who has him, please be kind and to let him go."
There is currently a $77,500 reward for his safe return.
He was last seen wearing a gray striped shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers. He is 5'3" and weighs 125 pounds.
