The body of a missing teenage girl was retrieved from New York City‘s East River a week after she plunged into the water and never reemerged.
Graceline Ilogene, 15, was pulled from the water on Friday afternoon – the same day two other bodies were also discovered in the 16-mile river.
Tragedy struck on May 30 when Graceline was hanging out with her friend by the water on Roosevelt Island.
She was sitting on the rocks by the river’s edge when she plunged in. Some witnesses say she was dipping her feet in the water and slipped in, while others suggested she was trying to grab a lost item.
Her friend had allegedly warned her to ‘get out of the water, you know you can’t swim,’ a source told the New York Post.
It is unclear what exactly led up to the moment Graceline, reportedly wearing a floral bathing suit, was swept away by the river’s relentless current.
Her panicked friend called 911 and alerted them Graceline had gone underwater and not returned, prompting authorities to swarm the scene.
Fire department divers scoured the area roughly 50 feet north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, where investigators believe the girl entered the water.
The victim’s distraught friend (pictured) was seen sitting against the railing as the chaotic search unfolded
Graceline Ilogene, 15, was pulled from the water on Friday afternoon – the same day two other bodies were also discovered in the 16-mile river (pictured: last Friday’s search party for the teen)
After failing to locate anyone, the FDNY turned over jurisdiction to the NYPD, which continued the search using harbor units, drones, and helicopters, according to both departments and witnesses.
A pair of Graceline’s white sneakers, books and a handbag were reportedly left behind at the eerie scene.
Her distraught friend was seen sitting against the railing as the chaotic search unfolded.
The current was rapidly moving the day she went missing, and the NYPD was forced to call off the search after a few hours due to disruptive weather conditions, CBS reported.
But authorities continued to search the area in the following days, and Graceline was ultimately found.
She was then rushed to an NYPD Harbor Unit in Brooklyn and pronounced dead.
Her neighbors previously told the Post she lived on the Upper West Side with her mother, with whom she had a close relationship.
‘They were very quiet. It’s sad,’ Edward Davis, who lived near the teen and her mother, told the outlet about Graceline’s untimely death.
Another neighbor said the girl seemed shy and was often working with her mom.
Fire department divers scoured the area roughly 50 feet north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, where investigators believe the girl entered the water (stock image of an NYPD search boat)
Before Graceline’s corpse was discovered, a man’s dead body was reported floating near the Brooklyn Bridge in the East River.
The unidentified corpse was pulled from the water at around 6am on Friday.
Later in the day, another unidentified man was also pronounced dead after being pulled from the river at around 7pm.
Graceline’s death is under investigation, and authorities believe it was an accident. A medical examiner will determine her official cause of death.
These harrowing incidents come as a Staten Island teenager leaped to his death off the side of the Staten Island Ferry after leaving a haunting final message to his family.
Brandon Pino, 17, of Staten Island, was spotted jumping off the busy ferry around 9:45am on May 31 as the boat was approaching Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan.
A witness told the ferry crew about the teen’s leap after it docked in Manhattan.
Brandon Pino (pictured), 17, of Staten Island, was spotted jumping off the busy ferry around 9:45am on May 31 as the boat was approaching Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan
The Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School senior had visited his uncle around 7am before taking the 9:30am ferry from St. George Ferry Terminal to Manhattan, his sister, Cathleen Pino, 27, told The New York Daily News.
Brandon posted on Instagram, announcing to his followers that it was ‘my last day on earth,’ before he jumped off the boat.
‘And then he also made a post about mental health awareness. Hashtag mental health awareness,’ the distraught sister said.
The young teen was also texting a group of friends before hurdling overboard, worrying them.
‘In one of those messages he wishes his friends a farewell, telling them to stay true to themselves and that he loves them,’ Cathleen said. ‘And then he sent a picture that he was on the ferry, on the outer part of the ferry, looking towards the water.’
The family is hoping to find Brandon’s body to allow his mother to have a proper burial for her son.
‘We want help to see if there can be more attention, so to see if they can actually do at least a recovery, for my mom to get some type of closure,’ she shared.
