Friend urged vanished teen to get out of East River because she couldn't swim: source

Yahoo

2 days ago

The search for a teenager who vanished in the fast moving East River resumed Saturday, as it emerged that a friend told the 15-year-old victim to get out of the water — because she couldn't swim.
The girl, who was wearing a floral bathing suit, was sitting on the Roosevelt Island rocks dipping her toes in the water when the pal saw her going all the way into the river around noon on Friday, cops said.
Her buddy tried to warn her, telling the victim to 'get out of the water, you know you can't swim,' a police source said.
But the fast-moving current dragged the girl away.
Her friend went to get help, but when she returned, the teen was gone.
Police who responded to the 12:15 p.m. 911 call found the distraught friend next to the water.
Investigators searching for the teen found video that appeared to show her being swept up river, the police source said.
'The video shows her being dragged north,' according to the source.
Cops found two books, a bag, sneakers and some clothing belonging to the teenager, whose identity hadn't been released Saturday afternoon.
The NYPD boats were back on the river Saturday afternoon as investigators looked for the girl.
Local resident Adrina Hegbeli, 77, said she was down by the river Friday and saw the girls before the incident.
'It is a tragedy,' she said Saturday. 'I have seven grandchildren and I was devastated.'
Some parkgoers speculated Friday that the girl dropped her phone and jumped in the water to get it, but police had no witness accounts of that, an NYPD spokesman said.
Additional reporting Brigitte Seltzer