New York City police on Sunday continued to investigate the deaths of two boys last seen walking together in Harlem but found lifeless in waterways on opposite sides of Manhattan.
So far, foul play has not been suggested, but aspects of the case are confounding.
Garrett Warren, 13, was reported missing the afternoon of May 15, while Alfa Barrie, 11, was reported missing early the previous morning.
Warren’s body was found in the Harlem River, fairly close to the area where the boys were last captured on security video in Harlem, on May 18, while Barrie’s remains were found across 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 were known to frequent at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem the night of May 12, witnesses said, according to NBC New York.
A worker at Ana’s Fish Market told the station he saw the boys in the store purchasing a few items that evening. He said they were regulars at the business.
Police also said the two were recorded by security video at 145th and Lenox, which was their last police-reported location, about 6 p.m. on May 12.
At a news conference May 16, New York Police Department officials said the two were also spotted on security video leaving the residence of one of the boys before video picked them up anew at the intersection.
Detectives wanted to speak to members of a large crowd in the area the two passed through as they walked in the vicinity of 145th and Lenox that evening, police said.
Detectives last week had a long wish list of potential witnesses and sources. “We need to speak that every single person that was with them,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian Gill said at the news conference.
“We want to talk to their classmates,” he said.
The boys did not attend the same school, officials said.
On Sunday, the city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner said the cause of death for Warren was drowning; manner of death was determined to be an accident.
Cause and manner for Barrie were pending, the office said in a statement. His body was examined Sunday.
Family members said the boys were neighborhood friends, though their families were not familiar to each other, according to NBC New York.
Members of both clans had been helping with the search for the pair, passing out fliers last week in hopes that they would be located alive.
Lindsey Pipia, Colin Sheeley and Yasmeen Persaud contributed.
