NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Search teams are leaving no stone left unturned as they hunt for a 14-year-old autistic boy from Queens who has been missing for two weeks.
More than 100 police academy recruits joined the search Friday for Avonte Oquendo, who was last spotted on surveillance video leaving the Center Boulevard School in Long Island City on Oct. 4.
A $70,000 reward is being offered for information about his whereabouts. A Facebook page has also been set up where people can share information and coordinate volunteer search efforts.
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Avonte is 5-foot-3 and weighs 125 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray striped shirt, black jeans and black shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit the Crime Stoppers website or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.
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Since his disappearance, police, relatives and volunteers have blanketed the city with fliers and have combed through train stations, subway lines, and waterways. The boy loves trains according to authorities.
Emergency Service Unit officers scoured the nearby river with a camera on Friday and well known search group Texas EquuSearch also jointed the hunt.
“We’ve got a lot of resources, a lot of success,” EquuSearch founder Tim Miller said. “We’ve got our horses and four wheelers and ground searchers, drone airplane, regular airplane, helicopter.”
