Kavion Brown Godfrey: NY teen who jumped into river on a dare still missing amid calls for widening search
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Kavion Brown Godfrey, 13, disappeared after getting into the water off East River Park in Manhattan's East Village shortly after 4 pm on October 20.
Search for the missing teenager has not yielded results yet, and has been hampered by poor weather over the weekend, stated People.
The teen loved basketball, dance, and art. He had asked for permission to go to the soccer game at the park with his basketball team and their coach on the day of the incident, to which his mother had agreed.
A spokesperson of the New York City Police Department stated that Kevin told his friends "Look what I can do," before getting into the river and being swept away by a current.
Parents of Kavion Brown Godfrey call upon NYPD to widen the search
Laquana Badger-Godfrey, Kevin's mother, was distraught as she reportedly sobbed on the phone while speaking to the New York Post.
"I don’t have any idea why he would have gone into the water. That’s something I can’t just think about."
Describing her son as "very intelligent" and "the happiest boy", she said, "I’ve been going through hell. I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I can’t eat. I want my son."
Kavion’s father, Donnell Godfrey, told the Post, "I feel like there needs to be a greater search. The East River is very large, and I think we need a more extensive search."
Kavion Brown Godfrey's parents are in shock
Recalling the day of the incident to the Post, Laquana said, "I was home with my three other children because I recently picked them up from school, and then we came home. I already spoke to Kavion, so I knew Kavion was okay. But then I got a phone call from my husband. My husband called me and said, ‘Babe you need to get out there, go.’ He said, ‘Go down to the river. It’s Kavion.' I ran down to 7th (Street), and I walked into a whole world of trouble. The coaches were trying to talk, FDNY, the police officers — it was a mess.”
Donnell was also informed of the soccer match on the phone earlier that day by a man who identified himself as “Coach Joe.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters on October 24, "We’re hearing that he was trying to impress a girl or, perhaps, on a dare ended up in the water."
"We heard that it was possibly a dare from one child to another and that it was possibly videotaped. We’re still tracking that down. To this point, we haven’t recovered or identified anybody who took that video, but it’s certainly part of our investigation.”
The worsening weather made the search harder, said Kenny. "Harbor was there. Scuba was there. Aviation was there. They did their best for about three hours and forty minutes after the incident to try to find the child. He could not be located."
“They actually went back later that evening at like 9 o’clock at night and still were utilizing every asset we have to try to find this missing persona and we haven’t found him yet,” he added.
Donnell alleged a lack of communication on the part of the investigators, saying, "I have yet to hear anything about what’s happened because no one has contacted us. All I’ve heard is that there may be some type of footage. And if the footage shows he was dared, I was never told that.”
A GoFundMe was created by a former teacher on behalf of Kavion's family, so that they may keep up their search for the teenager independently.