A tragic turn in the case of a missing two-year-old Bronx boy came to light Wednesday as a body, believed to be that of Montrell Williams, was discovered in the East River. The grim find near Ferry Point Park comes after weeks of heartrending search and increasing public concern, as cited by Daily News.
With the father, Arius Williams, already held at Rikers Island on a charge of custodial interference and considered a person of interest in the child's disappearance, authorities are seeking to quickly ascertain the child's identity. Bronx detectives are expected to confirm the body's identity, as reported by PIX11. The body was found approximately two miles from where the Bronx River feeds into the East River.
NYPD divers had been actively searching the Bronx River since video footage, obtained by law enforcement, appeared to show an individual tossing a package into the waters, which investigators fear may have contained the boy. The distressing events began after Arius Williams allegedly told the child's mother he had thrown their son into the river.
Arius Williams, who has a previous arrest record for assaulting Montrell's then-15-year-old mother two years ago, has been uncooperative with law enforcement regarding the whereabouts of his child. In a statement to Daily News, the boy's aunt, Alicia Williams, expressed the family's devastation and their inability to forgive this act.
Motivated by an acute sense of despair when police initially did not act, relatives turned to social media to raise awareness about Montrell's disappearance, as they were told there was nothing the police could do while Montrell was legally with his father during an approved visitation period. "We kept putting them on social media," Alicia Williams told Daily News. "The NYPD wasn’t helping us. They weren’t helping us so we did it. All the fam did. We were posting and putting up posters."
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has acknowledged the severity of the situation and the need for thorough investigation into the handling of the initial report made by the family. "The NYPD takes any case involving a missing person very seriously and we are looking into how the initial report from the family was handled," Tisch said in a statement to Daily News.
