A New York City woman whose teenage autistic son disappeared in October may be facing every mother 's nightmare . On Thursday night , police found legs and an arm next to the East River in Queens as well as size 5½ Air Jordan sneakers that match the shoes of her child , Avonte Oquendo , the teen 's family attorney , David Perecman , told CNN on Friday . Investigators also found size 16 dark jeans , the same size the teen wore , and underwear , the lawyer said . Avonte 's mother , Vanessa Fontaine , who has passionately advocated for a search for her son , will provide investigators with her DNA so they can determine whether the remains are the child 's , the attorney said . `` She does n't seem to me to have ever lost hope , '' Perecman told reporters Friday . `` This morning when I spoke to her she just said , 'You know , it 's not Avonte until it 's Avonte . ' `` Over months of searching for Avonte , his mother always held out hope . After he was missing for three weeks , she addressed reporters at an October 25 news conference . `` My thoughts are that my son is still out there , and I want everyone to continue to help me search for my son , '' Fontaine said . `` He is not gone . '' The idea of her son wandering around New York was terrifying because he can not communicate verbally , she said soon after his disappearance . `` He has the mental capacity of a 7- or 8-year-old , '' she said . Avonte was supposed to be with a monitor at all times , Fontaine said . But surveillance footage that captured her son bounding out of Center Boulevard School on Long Island at 12:38 p.m on October 4 did not show him with a supervisor . `` He does n't know that , you know , ' I can get hurt in the street , someone can grab me and take me , ' `` his mother said . `` He does n't know that . He does n't know fear . '' Authorities said they have worked hard to find the teenager . They deployed sniffer dogs , combed surveillance footage , searched the sewer system , put up posters for missing persons and filled the streets with fliers . There were alerts on the New York subway and messages in local newspapers . Divers used sonar to explore the city 's waterways . `` Obviously , we have devoted a tremendous amount of resources to the search , '' then-Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN affiliate WABC-TV in October . `` Unfortunately , we are not hopeful that we 're going to find this young man alive , but we are continuing our search . '' Fontaine said she wanted police to try new methods . `` I do n't know what the commissioner was thinking of last night by saying that , '' she said at the time . `` But my son , he is alive , he is out there . ... [ I ] t 's just that we are not looking in the right places . ''
Remains found along East River in Queens may belong to autistic boy , family 's lawyer says . Police have notified the family of Avonte Oquendo , who went missing in October . His mother is set to provide DNA to investigators , lawyer says .