NYPD pleads for cell video of moments before 2 boys disappeared into Harlem River
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig made a public plea for anyone with cell video of the 14 minutes before two boys disappeared into the Harlem River on May 12 to come forward.
“We know that kids, they take video, they exchange video on social media, if anyone has seen any video or heard of any video, please contact us,” Essig said. “You are not in trouble for not coming forward in a timely manner, if you have any video out there, we want to see it. You can do this anonymously through Crime Stoppers.”
Essig said interviews with neighborhood teens has led detectives to believe video exists.
“Neighborhood scuttlebutt or talk, interviewing some of the children that were there, they think there is a video out there, we’d like to see that video,” he said.
Essig said an investigation, in conjunction with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and medical examiner, continues to determine if the deaths of 11-year-old Alfa Barrie and 13-year-old Garrett Warren were the accidental result of horseplay at the river’s edge – or something more sinister.
“We want to find out exactly what occurred on that river, we owe that to the family for closure, and we also owe it to the public as well,” Essig said.
Essig laid out a timeline of the 14 minutes before the two boys are believed to have fallen in the East River.