Body of missing boy, 13, found in East River, mom faints seeing dead son: cop sources

The body of a 13-year-old boy who went missing in the East River off Manhattan last week was pulled from the water Friday, and his stricken mother fainted when she saw her dead son, police sources told The Post.

Kavion Brown Godfrey was last seen in the water near East Sixth Street and FDR Drive on the afternoon of Oct. 20 before he was swept away, witnesses told police.

His body was pulled out of the water near the South Street Seaport on Friday, and his parents, Laquana Badger Godfrey and Donnell Godfrey, identified his body, sources said.

His mom was so distressed by the sight that she fainted, sources said.

Godfrey’s body surfaced around East 10th Street before floating down to Wall and South streets, sources said.

The dead teenager was removed from the water at Pier 17, sources said.

The family announced yesterday, alongside their lawyer, that they would be looking into suing the city Department of Education after their son ended up in the river.

The mom of missing 13-year-old Kavion Brown Godfrey faints to the ground after seeing her son’s body pulled from the East River on Friday.
William Farrington
The teen’s body was found in the East River near East 10th Street in Manhattan on Friday, a week after he was swept away by a current.
Courtesy of Laquana Badger-Godfrey

He had been downtown with his coach to attend a soccer game for Lower East Side Prep, where he played basketball. His parents said the coach had encouraged the basketball team to come support the soccer kids because there was no basketball practice that day.

The family’s lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said the DOE potentially had a “responsibility” to look after the teenager and that that duty was “breached.”

The Post has reached out to the DOE for comment.

The dead teen’s mother, Laquana Badger Godfrey, was so distressed while identifying his body that she fainted.
Gabriella Bass
The family announced Thursday, alongside their lawyer Sanford Rubenstein (center), that they would be looking into suing the city Department of Education after their son ended up in the river.

Since the teen’s disappearance, the NYPD used drones and scuba and aviation teams to try to find Godfrey, hoping alongside the parents that he would be found alive.

“We’ve done everything that the department is in possession of to try to find this young man,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard said Thursday.

The NYPD has only confirmed Friday that a body has been recovered.

The family has said it remembers Kavion as “intelligent” and someone who would help anyone in need.

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