Source: More Remains Found In Queens; Avonte Oquendo's Family Waits For Answers
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Investigators on Saturday were still trying to determine if the remains that were discovered on the shore in College Point on Thursday night, are those of missing autistic teen Avonte Oquendo.
A team ended its search for more human remains and said it will continue to search the area in Queens on Sunday. A source told CBS 2 that search crews recovered more remains on Saturday.
Findings Of Human Remains Trouble Family Of Avonte Oquendo, Investigation Continues
"It's a size five-and-a-half Nike Jordan sneakers and size 16 jeans which are both what Avonte was wearing on the day which he left which are troubling things to hear," Oquendo family lawyer David Perecman said of the remains found on Thursday night.
The findings of human remains and clothing were troubling and difficult for Avonte's family to hear about, CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported.
The missing teen's father Daniel rushed from Florida to New York on Friday after hearing the news.
The family's attorney said that Avonte's mother Vanessa Fontaine refused to believe that it is her son until the test results come back.
"She's not gonna be convinced this is her son until there's enough to convince her," Perecman said.
Avonte, 14, is severely autistic and unable to speak. He was last seen on Oct. 4, running out of his Long Island City school.
Based on the clothing that Avonte was wearing at the time investigators believe that the lower part of a torso found along the East River belongs to the missing teen.
Fontaine has worked tirelessly to find her son for the last 15 weeks.
"She gets up in the morning, she cries her eyes out, wipes her tears and then does what she has to do," Perecman said.
And as the grim search continues, Perecman said the complete story of the boy's exit from his school that day has yet to be fully told, CBS 2's Steve Langford reported.
"It appears people involved were not being forthright about they knew about Avonte missing and it may have affected the ability of the school to find him," Perecman said.
Perecman claims that based on the complete surveillance video that he has been briefed on, the school's security guard didn't tell the entire story of what happened the day Avonte vanished.
"It appears the tapes I was given are not complete and the thing that may be missing is what Commissioner Kelly spoke about: the confrontation or the conversation between Avonte and the school safety agent," Perecman said.
On Friday, as divers searched the 38-degree waters off of College Point for additional body parts Fontaine gave investigators a birth certificate with Avonte's baby footprint, his toothbrush with DNA, and a sample of her own DNA to help identify the remains.
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