NYPD: Photo Of Boy In NYC Subway Is Not Missing Autistic Teen Avonte Oquendo

New York City police have determined that a photo of a boy riding a subway train is not that of an autistic boy missing for nearly a month.

A 13-year-old snapped the picture Tuesday and later posted it on his Facebook page.

Authorities said Thursday that the boy shown in the photo went with his mother to see police.

The boy resembles 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, who was last seen on Oct. 4 walking out of his Queens school.

The teen who took the photo approached the boy and asked if he was Avonte. But the boy didn't respond.

Avonte's parents had said they couldn't be sure that the photo showed their son.

According to the New York Daily News, the 13-year-old asked the look-alike, "Hey, are you Avonte?" The look-alike did not respond and the teen snapped a quick picture of him before getting off the train. Avonte cannot communicate verbally.

The photo showed the Avonte look-a-like sitting and looking straight ahead. He's wearing a beige jacket and green khaki pants. His family had said they couldn't be sure that the boy in the picture is their son.

A school administrator saw the photo on the teenager's Facebook and alerted the authorities.

The family said Avonte has a unique interest in trains and subways, which only added to the hope that the mystery rider in the photo was him.

The subway photo came days after NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he's "not hopeful" that the autistic boy is still alive. Kelly later apologized to the family for his comments.

“I don’t know what the commissioner was thinking about last night by saying that, but my son is alive,” said Vanessa Fontaine at a press conference on Friday.

The NYPD has devoted an unprecedented amount of resources to the search, according to the New York Post, including "helicopters, divers and more than 100 cops each day to run down more than 200 tips and conduct interviews."

Avonte is 5'3" and about 125 pounds. There is a $95,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to the missing boy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.