Police ID mother and 11-year-old son found dead in N.J. river – NJ.com

Police on Wednesday identified the 11-year-old boy and woman found dead in the river in a Boonton park on Tuesday night as a mother and son from Boonton, authorities said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office identified Warda Syed, 35, and her son Uzair Ahmed, 11, both of Boonton, as the woman and child pulled from the Rockaway River in Grace Lord Park late Tuesday night.

A second child, a 6-year-old boy, found at the scene was also confirmed as Syed’s son, the office said. The child’s name was not going to be released, the office said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, police have not released information on what happened to Syed and her son, or the circumstances leading up to their deaths.

Syed was a substitute teacher at the Boonton school district and worked in the district’s aftercare program, confirmed district Superintendent Robert Presuto. The school district had a crisis team in place for any students or staff who needed counseling in the wake of the tragic news, he said.

“We’re heartbroken,” said Presuto.

At 5:39 p.m. Tuesday, a passerby called 911 and told police a 6-year-old child was shouting for his mother in the upper pond section of Grace Lord Park, authorities previously said in a press conference at the park Tuesday night.

When police arrived, they found the child standing by the bank of the Rockaway River and saw footprints leading down to the water, Acting Prosecutor Robert Carroll said. Responding officers also saw two bodies in the river, at the top of the waterfall that the river flows into, he said.

The two bodies were recovered by Boonton’s Swift Water Rescue Team, police said. The two were pronounced dead at 6:37 and 6:38 p.m., respectively, authorities said.

The prosecutor’s office, sheriff’s office, and Boonton police are investigating the incident. The 6-year-old child was in police custody immediately following the incident, authorities said.

The park is located in Uptown Boonton near Essex Ave and West Main Street, and investigators had police tape cordoning off an area of the park near a lighted a gazebo.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Boonton Police Department Detective Bureau and Boonton Fire Department Swiftwater Rescue all continue to investigate the two deaths, the Prosecutor’s Office said.

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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.