Police recover body from East River believed to be missing Bronx toddler, source says

Police recovered a body from the East River on Wednesday that authorities believe is that of a 2-year-old Bronx boy who has been missing for a month, according to a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation.

An NYPD spokesperson said the person was male but his identity was still being confirmed.

The boy, Montrell Williams, was last seen on May 10 in Hunts Point, and was wearing a white shirt and a diaper, police said. NYPD officials said he had been with his father for a court-approved visit but was never returned to his mother.

A police spokesperson said Williams' father was brought into the 40th Precinct for questioning this week after allegedly failing to return the boy to his mother and making “concerning statements” to her. Officials said the father was uncooperative and was taken before a family court judge, who demanded to know where Williams was.

As of mid-Wednesday afternoon, Williams' father had not been charged with a crime. City correction department records showed he was being held on Rikers Island on a family court warrant.

Family court proceedings are not public. A spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration has not returned multiple messages.

Despite earlier pleas from the boy’s mother and grandmother, police only began searching for the boy this past weekend, authorities said. It was not clear why the official search for Williams did not begin sooner.

On Wednesday morning, members of the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit were flying a drone above an isolated stretch of Garrison Park by the Bronx River. A lone candle bearing Williams' photo stood near a cycling path in the park.

By the afternoon, videos circulated on social media showing police activity near the Whitestone Bridge, where NYPD officials said the body was found.

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said the department was continuing to search for Williams and reviewing how police have handled his case.

“Everything from filling out a domestic incident report to referring it to the detective division, that whole process we're going to examine,” he said.