Police say the bodies of two young Staten Island boys who were reported missing in the aftermath of Sandy have been found in a marsh.
The boys, ages 2 and 4, were found about 15 yards from each other up against debris and a tree in the marsh near Father Capodanno Boulevard in South Beach three days after their mother told police they were lost in a storm surge from Sandy.
Two-year-old Brandon Moore and 4-year-old Connor Moore were swept away after their mother placed them on the roof of her SUV on Monday amid rushing waters that caused the vehicle to stall, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said as he announced the discovery of the bodies.
Police have said the mother, Glenda Moore, was going to a shelter when she tried to flee the vehicle with the boys, losing her grip on their hands in the rising water and under the relentless cadence of pounding waves.
"She put the two boys on the roof of the car to avoid the water, and then another large wave came, and it apparently washed them away," Kelly said. "Of course, the mother was totally, completely distraught. She started looking for them herself, asking people to help her look."
The search has continued ever since, with numerous emergency personnel joining the march through Staten Island marshland until the bodies were located at the end of a narrow dead end street.
"Terrible, absolutely terrible," Kelly said. "It just compounds all the tragic aspects of this horrific event."
More than a dozen police officers from the NYPD Scuba Unit had fanned out across the area to search for the boys after they were reported missing. The mother's blue SUV was pulled out of the marsh earlier Wednesday.
More than 35 deaths in New York City have been attributed to Sandy.
