Autistic teen’s remains identified

NEW YORK — Human remains found along the East River last week are the body of an autistic teen who vanished more than three months ago after walking out of his school in the middle of the day, the city’s med­ical examiner confirmed Tuesday. The announce­ment, widely expected for days, devastated the family of Avonte Oquen­do, who was 14 and had a form of autism that made it impossible for him to speak. The discovery of Avonte’s partly decom­posed body on the river­bank, more than 11 miles from where he vanished, was a sad end to a mas­sive citywide search that included hundreds of officers, marine units and volunteers. The med­ical examiner’s office used DNA tests to identi­fy the remains discov­ered Thursday. Further study was needed to determine the cause and manner of death, the office said. http://rochesterdemocrat.ny.newsmemory.com