2 bodies pulled from LA River amid search for missing teens, LAPD says

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two bodies were pulled from the Los Angeles River amid the search for two missing teenagers on Sunday, according to officials.

Los Angeles police said they first received the call about two teenage boys possibly in the river on Friday at about 4 p.m.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the river and did not find anything, according to authorities. The parents of the teenagers reported the boys missing at about 10 p.m. that evening.

Family members identified the missing teens as 15-year-old Gustavo Ramirez and 16-year-old Carlos Jovel.

Officials said they received another call on Sunday at about 10:30 a.m. that indicated they should search the river again, just more south of the original search site.

"At that point, they started to think that there might have been a connection between the two individuals that were reported in the river, the missing 15 and 16-year-old, and they began a very extensive search," Det. Meghan Aguilar with the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The bodies of what appeared to be two male teenagers were discovered submerged in a small area of the river that was about 12-feet deep, officials stated.

"In this area, where it's about 125-feet across, it's actually quite deep. At its deepest, it's about 12 feet," Aguilar said.

Officials said the first body was found at about 6:45 p.m. and the second body about an hour later.

"They'll do their investigation, which will determine cause of death," Aguilar explained. "If there's foul play, they become homicides. If they find that they drowned or believed that they drowned, then this is an unfortunate drowning accident of two individuals."

A family member of Carlos told ABC7 that the teenager and his friends enjoyed playing basketball at a park nearby the river and they would walk along the banks of the river. That family member also stated Carlos did not know how to swim.

Police stated the Los Angeles County Coroner's Department would identify the bodies. Until that announcement, family members of the missing teens were leaning on each other for support during the difficult time.