New York police are now investigating if the human limbs discovered Thursday night in the College Point area of Queens could be that of 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo who has been missing since Oct. 4, the Associated Press reported.
An unidentified person noticed something resembling an arm in the water as they were taking pictures along the East River near Powell's Cove Blvd., almost 11 miles away from his school where he was last seen, according to the AP.
After police arrived on the scene they found a torso and legs covered in clothes resembling what Oquendo was last seen wearing, as well as a dark-colored shoe in the water, the AP reported.
Despite the similar clothing found on the human remains, authorities have not confirmed whether the remains are Oquendo, the AP reported.
The autistic teen who was fascinated by trains and has been missing since he left school on Oct. 4, more than three months ago, according to the AP.
According to David Perecman, the Oquendo family attorney, Avonte's mother Vanessa was notified around 2 a.m. about the findings, and said she would consider the discovery nothing more than another tip until more conclusive information is given, the AP reported.
The human remains were taken to the Queens County Morgue and the medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death, as well as identify the body but the results won't be available for another several days, according to the AP.
Oquendo's disappearance launched a massive search through social media sites, posters on subway trains and stations and even announcements made by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority asking for any information on the teenaged boy, the AP reported. Marine units, hundreds of officers and volunteers all joined in the search, but to no avail.
Avonte's mother filed a notice of claim and has intentions of suing the city of New York because she believes her son's school allowed him to leave the premises and waited too long to contact police about him missing, the AP reported.
