A NY1 Assignment Desk intern Nicole Porette happened to be working Wednesday night when the NYPD send out a notice about two boys from Virginia that were missing in Manhattan since Tuesday.
Then, Porette was walking home from work Thursday afternoon when she recognized the same young boys, brothers Michael Lorenzo Louis, 13, and Jeffery Louis, 8, talking to two transit policemen by the subway station at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue.
"I told the police officer I recognized them from the day before,” said Porette. "We had gotten a police notice that two boys were missing and I saw their pictures and we all commented on how cute they were. So that's how I remembered them."
The Louis brothers, who live with their father in Virginia, were visiting their grandparents at 155 West 106th Street. At about 8 p.m. Tuesday, the grandmother went to take a shower and the boys left the apartment unnoticed.
"I was scared. I couldn't sleep last night. I'm just glad they've been found. It is a relief," said Duke Louis, the boys' uncle.
Even though Porette found the brothers talking to police, she says they never told the officers they were missing.
"You could tell they were scared, they were frightened," said Porette. "I think they thought they were going to be in trouble for being gone."
Late Thursday, the boys left a police precinct in Chinatown before being taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
Family and friends were overjoyed to find the boys were back in safe hands.
"Thanks heaven God bring them back, it's such a blessing," said the boys' relative Paulette Michel. "And we thank God for this really, 'cause that don't happen everyday."
Duke Louis said of Porette, “She has been a blessing for the entire family. We appreciate her concerns. I just want to thank her."
The brothers were still undergoing medical evaluation Thursday night, but police reported the boys appeared to be in good physical condition.
- Lily Jamali
July 24, 2008
NY1 Intern Finds Missing Brothers In Manhattan
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