Where was Garrett Warren found? Officials identify remains of one of the two missing friends from the Bronx

On Thursday, May 18, New York officers recovered the body of 13-year-old Garrett Warren from the Harlem river. Garrett Warren and his friend, 11-year-old Alfa Barrie, were both reported missing approximately a week before the corpse was recovered. The search for the younger boy is still ongoing.

Trigger warning: This article concerns the death of a child, the reader's discretion is advised

Garrett Warren and Alfa Barrie were last seen on surveillance cameras at 6 pm on Friday, in Lennox square. Warren's mother said that she last saw the pair in the early hours of Saturday, May 13, when they supposedly left Warren's family home to play basketball at 1:30 am. The circumstances behind the disappearance of the two boys remain unknown. The case currently remains under investigation by the New York Police Department. Investigators have not discussed the possibility of foul play.

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How did the NYPD discover Garrett Warren's remains?

After the children were missing, New York authorities conducted a widespread search which included the use of boats and helicopters. According to Brian Gill, the Deputy Chief Commanding Officer of Manhattan’s Detective Bureau, authorities focused on searching the river.

Gill said:

“We’re going to search land, air and sea. Obviously the water is right here. They’re young children. We’re going to take every precaution. We have state of the art equipment, our helicopters. We have our harbor unit. We’re going to use all our assets to look for these kids."

The New York Post reported that on Thursday morning, authorities discovered a child's body near the Manhattan side of the Madison Avenue Bridge. They identified the corpse as Garrett Warren, since his large shoes indicated that he was most likely the older of the missing pair.

Jackie Rowe-Adams, a Harlem Community activist, said that Warren's mother was distraught upon discovering that officials had recovered her son's body. Rowe-Adams said:

"When they found out, they (were) in disbelief. The mother just collapsed. She collapsed."

She added:

"Unbelievable, and that's all the mom kept saying -- not her child, that was not her child in the water, she wanted to see her child, she wanted to go view the body, she wanted to see because he wasn't supposed to be in that water, and that's all, you know. And it's, I'm gonna tell you, honestly, that's the reaction of a mom in disbelief that your child's not coming home."

Warren's godmother, Christine Vargas, said:

"We ask that you guys keep them both in your prayers. We need all [the] prayers we can get."

As reported by Pix11, Garrett Warren's family is currently planning a memorial. When speaking about Warren, many family members referred to him as 'man man', due to his large build. An autopsy was conducted on Friday, but the results are still pending.