After spending the entire day worried, scared and upset, at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night, one Amsterdam family got the phone call they've been hoping and praying would never come.
The family says detectives called missing 13-year-old Jonathan DeJesus' mother and told her one of the two bodies found in a thickly wooded area, in a soybean field in the tiny town of Florida was that of her son.
Too devastated to talk, we spoke with DeJesus' grandfather Charles Tiano, who called FOX23 just minutes after he heard the news.
Tiano said authorities confirmed that the other body located in that rural area was that of DeJesus' 16-year-old friend Paul Damphier.
The pair were first reported missing at the Amsterdam Police Department on July 9th, and neither have been heard from since.
A dazed Tiano said over the phone, "We're still in shock. He's (Jonathan's) 13-years-old, 13 years old! (Paul is) 16-years-old! What animal did this? And he'll (the suspect will) be protected more than these children were."
Tiano said the family tried to get various authorities and politicians to issue an Amber Alert for the 13-year-old, and 16-year-old after the boys failed to return home, but that "no one took the case seriously."
Now the devastated grandfather says he's wondering if the story would have ended differently if the alert had been issued.
"Something has got to be done these laws have got to change. Nobody took it serious. There are two boys dead in a field. Is that serious enough?" he said.
When asked if the police had told the family, on Thursday night, if they had identified a suspect, or if he had any reason to believe that anyone would want to hurt his grandson, Tiano said, "No (they didn't say anything about a suspect). I can't fathom anyone that would want harm a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old. It's got to be one sick animal. I hope they get him soon."
The heartbroken Tiano said there is only one other family who knows exactly how he's feeling right now.
"My heart goes out to Paul's (Damphier) family as well. They pounded the pavement, they made phone calls, they've been here and there, and just, nobody took it serious. Any parent who ever lost a child would say the same thing. We're numb. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."
Tiano said he first realized something was terribly wrong when, after not coming home, his grandson failed to reply to any Facebook posts from concerned family.
If you have any information about this case, you're asked to call Amsterdam Police Detectives at (518) 884-1100.
