The NYPD declared a picture with a boy resembling Avonte Oquendo was not the missing teenager, the New York Daily News reported.
On Wednesday, the photo taken by a passenger on the E or F subway emerged. Oquendo's father said it was a possibility though he could not confirm the boy to be his missing son.
Although Oquendo was last seen wearing a gray striped shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers, the boy in the picture was dressed in a beige jacket and green khaki pants.
After police investigated the picture, they located the boy in the picture and determined it was not Oquendo.
"It was not Avonte. This person whose photo it was was in the precinct with his parents," a police spokeswoman said. "He was taken to a precinct, he was with his mother and it's confirmed he was not Avonte."
The lead restored faith in the search for Oquendo, who is autistic and cannot communicate verbally, after the passenger said he received no response from the boy when he approached him on the train.
"Hey, are you Avonte?" the boy asked him. After no answer, he took a photo and notified authorities according to Tony Herbert, president of the Brooklyn East chapter of the National Action Network
"We just need to stay focused and analyze every sighting," the boy's father Daniel Oquendo said. "The more sightings, the better. Eventually one will pan out ... We're still hopeful."
In addition to appearances on news programs, Oquendo's mother, Vanessa Fontaine, set up a van near the Queens school he was last seen at with a recorded message playing out loud.
"Hi Avonte, it's mom. Come to the flashing lights, Avonte," Fontaine said in the recording. "It's mom, Avonte. Hi Avonte, come to the flashing lights. It's mom."
There is currently a $77,500 reward for his safe return. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call (800) 577-8477.
