A 14-year-old mute autistic boy is still missing, and has not been found, as police initially reported Tuesday. Police had said Tuesday that Avonte Oquendo had been found after someone called police and reported seeing him. About 20 minutes later, police said they had been mistaken, that the child was not him.
A statewide alert has been issued as police continue the frantic and desperate search for a severely autistic teenager from Queens. 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo was last seen leaving the Center Boulevard School located at 1-50 51st Avenue in Long Island City on Friday afternoon. Surveillance video shows Avonte simply running out the door. Avonte was last seen wearing a gray striped shirt, black jeans and black sneakers. He is 5-foot-3 and weighs approximately 90 pounds. His mother says he has the mind of a 7-year-old and is not verbal.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at http://WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
(Breaking911.com Newsroom)
