Body Found In LA River Island Believed To Be Missing Valley Teen

LOS ANGELES, CA — The body of a young male was found Saturday on an island of the Los Angeles River near the Golden State (5) Freeway in Los Feliz. Los Angeles police and the coroner have yet to confirm it is that of a 14-year-old boy who went missing during a rainstorm. However, the Los Angeles Times reporting that the body is the boy's.

The body was found at 1:15 p.m. on an island of the Los Angeles River near the Golden State Freeway near Los Feliz Boulevard, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Police will only confirm the body is that of a young male.

Fourteen year-old Elias Rodriguez of Sylmar was last seen February 17 leaving Cesar Chavez Learning Academies in San Fernando, according to the LAPD. He had borrowed someone's cellphone to call his mother at work to ask if she could pick him up but she missed the call, police said. Victoria White, a senior police representative at LAPD’s Mission Division, told the Los Angeles Times it's possible the boy may have been swept away by the Pacoima Wash, which feeds into the L.A. River.

The Los Angeles City Council offered a $50,000 reward for information that helped find the teen.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.