New York City police continued to investigate Sunday the deaths of two children who were last seen walking together in Harlem but were found dead in waterways on opposite sides of Manhattan.
So far, no foul play has been suggested, but aspects of the case are unclear.
Garrett Warren, 13, was reported missing on the afternoon of May 15, while Alfa Barrie, 11, went missing early the previous morning.
Warren’s body was found in the Harlem River, quite close to the area where the children 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 inside a fish market they frequented at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem on the night of May 12, witnesses said, according to NBC New York.
A worker at Ana’s Fish Market told the station that he saw the children in the store buying a few items that night. He said they were regulars at the business.
Police also said the two were recorded on security video at 145th and Lenox, which was the last location reported by police, around 6 p.m. 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 children before the video captured them again at the intersection.
Detectives wanted to speak to members of a large crowd in the area the two passed through while walking near 145th and Lenox that night, police said.
Detectives last week had a long wish list of potential witnesses and sources. “We need to talk about every single person that was with them,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian Gill said at the news conference.
«We want to talk to your classmates,» he said.
The children did not attend the same school, authorities said.
On Sunday, the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Warren’s cause of death was drowning; The manner of death was determined to be an accident.
Barrie’s case and manner were pending, the office said in a statement. His body was examined on Sunday.
Family members said the children were neighborhood friends, though their families did not know each other, according to NBC New York.
Members of both clans had been helping with the search for the couple, handing out flyers last week in the hope that they could be found alive.
lindsey pipia, Colin Sheeley and Yasmeen Persaud contributed.