NYPD asks for public's help to find 2 missing boys last seen in Harlem
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police on Tuesday plumbed the depths of the Harlem River using sonar and drones in a grim search for two young boys.
Their families are desperate.
Fatima Diallo's 11-year-old brother Alfa Barrie left school early on Friday and never came home. Neither did 13-year-old Garrett Warren.
Police are deeply concerned about what happened to them.
"Any assistance, no matter how little it is, we need your help," Deputy Chief Brian Gill said.
Garrett Warren's mother, Dayshell Moore was begging for help finding her son - as was Alfa Barrie's sister, Fatima Diallo.
"Sorry, this is just too much , honestly I don't know what to think right now - this is my baby brother -- never happened before," Diallo said.
Volunteers passed out flyers near a park at 143rd and Lenox, around the corner from an NYPD surveillance camera that captured the boys walking together around 6:00 p.m. Friday.
A few hours after that, someone called 911 to report two boys in the Harlem River, leading to a massive search Friday night that turned up nothing.
The boys were not reported missing until Sunday and Monday, so police didn't make the connection to that 911 call until now.
But even as they repeat their water search, they haven't ruled out the kids are still alive, possibly somewhere in the neighborhood.
Hence, the all-out hunt across two boroughs involving hundreds of cops and a plea to the public for help.
"The missing persons squad, detectives, patrol officers in Manhattan and the Bronx, the harbor unit, members of the strategic response group and other personnel are searching for these boys and there are millions of eyes and ears in our city, and we're asking all of them right now to help us find these children," said Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson.
Warren was last seen in front of his home on Saturday around 1:30 a.m.
He is described as having black hair, brown eyes, 6 feet tall, and approximately 215 pounds. He was last seen wearing a tan hooded sweatshirt with a white T-shirt underneath, black jeans, and blue and black Jordan sneakers.
Barrie was last seen inside his home at 4 p.m. Friday.
He is described as 5'2", approximately 100 pounds, and was last seen wearing a navy sweater with a 'Democracy Prep Harlem Middle School' logo, gray pants and gray sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
ALSO READ | NYPD pulls off daring rescue after scare on Staten Island Ferry
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