The brother of Avonte Oquendo, the mute 14-year-old boy with autism who has been missing for over two weeks, spoke to HuffPost Live on Monday, urging the public to continue the search.
"At this point, anything's possible," Danny Oquendo said. "We've been sending out volunteers to each borough in New York City."
"He's like any other kid. He just can't communicate. He likes playing, he likes parks, he likes trains. He just can't communicate."
Oquendo also discussed the latest search efforts to find the missing teenager, which include playing his mother's voice over a loud speaker.
The NYPD has been frantically searching for Avonte, canvassing neighborhoods, scouring the subways, and posting countless flyers throughout the city with his picture. According to The Daily Mail, police have even reached out to psychics for help.
On Monday, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said authorities had no leads and may need to scale back theresources being used to find Avonte.
“We have our scuba divers in the water everyday,” Kelly said. “We’re doing everything that we reasonably can do. Helicopter surveys, rooftops, that sort of thing, are being done as well.”
The reward for finding Avonte has been raised to $85,000. Anybody with any information is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. You can also visit the Crime Stoppers website or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.
Avonte is 5-foot-3, 125 pounds and was last seen wearing gray striped shirt, black jeans, and black shoes.