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Read the press release here.

Relatives of Man Who Went Missing in Inwood Last Month Beg for Aid

By Carolina Pichardo | December 1, 2015 2:44pm
 INWOOD – Uptown residents say they’re missing a son, and local officials are not hearing their plea. “He is our son – a son of this community,” residents chanted, as they accompanied Anthony Ureña’s, 23, mother, Judith Lopez on Monday, Nov. 30.
Residents Show Uptown Mother Support for Missing Son
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INWOOD — Relatives of a college student who has been missing for more than two weeks after being spotted leaving an Inwood nightclub gathered on a street corner Monday night to plead for help in finding him.

The family of Anthony Ureña, 23, a resident of the Upper West Side's Douglass Houses, said he was last seen on Nov. 14 at about 5 a.m. near West 204th Street and 10th Avenue after leaving the club Cliff at 440 W. 202nd St., police said.

"He's never done this. This is the first time,” Ureña's mother, Judith Lopez, told the crowd of more than 50 people at the rally, while tugging on her son’s Dogo Argentino, Sam, who she said hasn’t eaten in days.

Ureña's family said the full-time Lehman College student was out that night with friends and was last seen ordering from a food truck at 204th Street and 10th Avenue, the same place they gathered Monday night.

“He is our son — a son of this community,” chanted the more than a dozen attendees who accompanied Lopez at the rally.

"We're all here as mothers," added Xiomara Viloria, a local resident. "We need to find an answer for her."

The family said they have reached out to local businesses and scoured the area, something they claimed police and local politicians have failed to do.

While Ureña disappeared in the confines of the 34th Precinct, the case was passed on to the 24th Precinct, which covers the area where he lives. There have been no updates on the status of the case since he disappeared, police said.

“The police have told us nothing,” said his older brother, Christopher Ureña. “We’re asking people questions and sharing with [the precinct] what we find." 

The family said they planned to march to the 34th Precinct Monday to push for more answers, until rally attendee and local Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez promised he would personally reach out to both precincts.

Ureña's family lived in Inwood for many years before moving to the Upper West Side nearly a decade ago, but they return Uptown often to visit family and friends, Christopher Ureña said.

“We are always up here,” he said, “almost every week.”

Ureña last seen wearing a green leather jacket, a blue baseball cap, black Timberland boots and black jeans, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.