Families: Bodies Are Those of Missing Milwaukee Boys

MILWAUKEE – Two boys missing for almost a month apparently drowned in an icy park lagoon near where they were last seen, and authorities said Saturday foul play was not suspected.

Purvis Virginia Parker, 11, and Quadrevion Henning, 12, disappeared the afternoon of March 19 after they asked Quadrevion's grandfather whether they could play basketball at the nearby park.

The bodies were found in the park lagoon on Friday.

"It's my son," Purvis' mother, Angela Virginia, told The Associated Press by phone. She later told WTMJ-TV that she was now at ease because all she had wanted was closure.

"I got what I asked for because I have to go on from here," Virginia said.

Police Chief Nan Hegerty speculated Purvis, who could not swim, fell in first, and Quadrevion, who was a strong swimmer, tried to save him.

She did not guess why the boys went near the lagoon, which was partially covered with ice when they disappeared, and said the investigation is closed unless someone came forward with new information.

"There was no evidence of any injury or any foul play," said Milwaukee County medical examiner Jeffrey Jentzen. "The bodies appeared to be in conditions that were consistent with having been submerged since the time they'd been missing."

Jentzen said the children could have lost consciousness immediately in the cold water.

"That makes it kind of nice for the family that they weren't held against their own will," said Quadrevion's uncle, Dennis Frazier.

The first of the two bodies was found about 7:30 p.m. Friday after a man and his son walking in the park saw something floating, Hegerty said.

Police and Fire Department divers found the second body around 10 p.m. Both bodies were fully clothed.

After the boys' disappearance, police and volunteers searched the neighborhood, posted leaflets around the city and made repeated appeals for information anyone might have.

On March 23, divers searched the large lagoon, which was as deep as 20 feet, but because of the muddy bottom, it was possible the bodies could have been missed in a search, Hegerty said.

The boys' families had said the two had no history of running away and had good school attendance records, and police fielded hundreds of calls on a tip line offering possible leads.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who spoke with family members Saturday, said they used the word "closure" with the day's events.

"The uncertainty is horrible, and there is no happy ending," he said.