Who Is Trevyan Rowe? Missing Teenager With Autism Found Dead

Trevyan Rowe, an autistic teenager from Rochester, New York, was believed to be found dead by the police, three days after he was reported missing. On Sunday evening, the Rochester police confirmed they found the body matching the description of Rowe in the Genesee River.

Police officials said presently they had no evidence to suspect foul play in the death of the 14-year-old. Rowe, who was on his way to No. 12 school in the Rochester School District, went missing early Thursday after exiting the school bus. The police said Rowe did not enter the school premises but instead left the area shortly after getting off the bus.

Rowe’s family members, who relentlessly searched for him for days, were devastated by the outcome. The search spanned out for three days, with spades of volunteers coming out to help with the search. AutismUp, a local non-profit that serves individuals and families with autism, and the scuba team in the school district, were a few of the thousands that came out in droves to aid the search. Rowe’s mother, Carrie Houston, thanked the community for their efforts to find her son.

Rochester School District officials said precious time was lost to locate the missing teen when the school failed to follow the protocol and did not immediately notify Rowe’s mother that her son was missing. Instead, the school waited 10 hours before they made a call notifying the family about the disappearance, after which the police began the search.

Kent Handy, Rowe’s uncle, told ABC affiliated WHAM News, "They definitely dropped the ball, if they would have just called I don't think we would be having this conversation right now. That phone call would have made a difference between him being missing that first night."

Barbara Deane Williams, Rochester City School District superintendent, said the district will be bringing in an independent investigator to determine why the school waited for ten hours to notify the family of Rowe's absence.

“We have a variety of conflicting reports. We felt it was most prudent at this time to have an independent investigation which will be conducted so we will have a thorough report in accounting for our community,” said Deane-Williams. "At this time we simply do not have all of the facts. All of us are devastated and this is not the outcome we expected."

The family members, who were hoping for a positive outcome, were devastated by the news. The community also expressed their grief over the dire news.

Mayor Lovely Warren said, "I am very, very sad by this news which is every parent’s worst fear. My heart and prayer go out to Trevyan's family and friends. Trevyan is a very special boy who was loved and he captured the hearts of our entire community. I want to thank the thousands of Rochester citizens who took to the streets in the snow and cold top look for Trevyan. Our city's heart clearly shined."