Man Found In E River IDed As Missing Uptown Student: Report

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — A man whose body was found this month in the East River was identified as a missing student from Washington Heights, according to police and reports.

John Carlos Garcia-Mendez, 21, was found dead May 19 in the East River near the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said. Garcia-Mendez was reported missing at the beginning of the month in Albany, where he was attending the State University of New York at Albany to study physics, the New York Post first reported.

His mother told the Post that her "heart is broken," following the death of her only child. The mother hadn't seen her son since his school's winter vacation and had been "depressed" about not graduating on time, she told the Post.

School officials at SUNY Albany said Garcia-Mendez's death is "heartbreaking" and offered condolences to the student's family and friends in a statement.

Read the full NY Post article here.