Teenager leaps to death from busy NYC ferry after leaving haunting final message for family

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A New York City 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 Saturday 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.
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.
The suicide attempt came after Brandon posted on Instagram, announcing to his followers that it was 'my last day on earth.'
'And then he also made a post about mental health awareness. Hashtag mental health awareness,' the distraught mother said.
The young teen was also texting a group of friends prior to jumping 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.'
Police called for a search for Brandon, but the search ended around 6pm on Saturday.
Despite that, the family has continued to search for the student.
'We're doing our own search with family members,' she told the outlet. 'We are going along Jersey City, Battery Park, Brooklyn, just looking around the borders.
'We've gone on Governors Island yesterday [Sunday] and we're doing it again today [Monday].'
The family is hoping to at least 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.
The family has contacted local hospital in hopes of learning Brandon survived the jump after a radio transmission stated 'he was swimming' after the fall, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Prior to Saturday, Brandon had been acting normally and even seemed happier than usual, Cathleen told The Daily News.
'It seems very odd because he was being himself, which was eating, cooking for himself, cooking his healthy food, going to the gym, going to school early, being there for his graduation practice,' she said.
'His friends told me that they had seen that he was more happy than usual at school lately.'
However, like many teens, Brandon worried about his body and had told friends he felt pressure to 'be a certain weight or look a specific way,' Cathleen said.
DailyMail.com has reached out the Pino family and NYPD for comment.
A day before, a 15-year-old girl who was not identified allegedly jumped into the East River near Roosevelt Island, vanishing around lunchtime, according to NBC New York.
She was last seen wearing a floral bathing suit while sitting on rocks near the water, The Daily News reported.
Officers found a bag with books, a jacket, and sneakers near the water that they believe belonged to the girl.
Both teens remain missing as of Tuesday morning.