Authorities identified the remains that washed up on a riverside as a Washington, D.C. teenager who mysteriously vanished two months ago following a police chase.
Nyair Raymond went missing on Jan. 15 after being seen fleeing from a stolen car near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in southwest D.C., local station WDCA reported.
According to a police report, a police pursuit began after officers tried to stop a black Kia Sportage for a traffic violation. Both the driver and passenger fled from the vehicle on foot.
Police caught up with the driver, 18-year-old Jalen Anthony Young, but never located 17-year-old Raymond who was last seen fleeing underneath the bridge.
Raymond’s mother, Sharnell Ford, said the teen’s cellphone was found three days after his disappearance. Then, more than a week later, his jacket was found submerged in the Anacostia River.
On March 7, a body washed ashore at the same location Raymond’s jacket was found.
At the time authorities found the remains, Ford feared they could be her son’s.
“It’s an African American male, about six feet tall. It all fits the criteria of my son,” she said. “They’ve had that body for over a week, and they’re telling me they won’t let me see it.”
Ford said that police have been slow to release information and is demanding they let her view bodycam footage to learn what happened the night of the chase.
“I want to know what they did and what they didn’t do,” Ford said. “Something happened under that bridge.”
The mother is concerned foul play might be at work.
“My son has been wronged somewhere,” she said. “This is a murder — I feel it in my heart.”
Police still have not released a cause or manner of death. It’s unclear at this time how Raymond ended up in the river.
Nyair’s family started a GoFundMe page to offer reward money to anyone who might have information on the teen’s disappearance.
“Nyair is an amazing person, kind, caring, funny, loving, very family oriented and loved by so many. He obtained his high school diploma at the early age of 17 in August of 2024,” the page states, adding that Nyair had dreams of owning a construction company. “He is a very outgoing young man with a promising future.”
