Bodies of NYC teens swept away at Queens beach recovered, family says

The bodies of two teenagers swept into the ocean at a Queens beach last week have been recovered, the grieving family confirmed to The Post Sunday.

“I called the precinct this morning and I went down there and they showed me pictures. I know for sure it’s him,” said Ushell Chandler, whose 16-year-old son Elyjha Chandler was swept away at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways on June 21.

Elyjha’s body was recovered at around 9 p.m. Saturday near Beach 114th Street, just up the beach from where he disappeared over a week ago alongside his lifelong friend Christian Perkins, 17.

The morning after Elyjha’s body was recovered, Christian’s was found near the beach at Beach 149th Street.

Police respond to reports of a body that was found on the beach Saturday, near where the teens went missing. Diego Luzuriaga/FreedomNewsTV

Police have not yet officially identified the remains, The Post confirmed, but the grieving dad said he was certain his son had finally been found.

“I saw the pictures, I know it’s him. When I saw the pictures, some tears came to my eyes,” Chandler said.

“It’s got to be a closed casket,” he said, adding that Elyjah’s mother had been despondent since learning the news.

“She is taking it very hard.”

The teens had been standing in knee-high water with friends on the evening of June 21 when a massive wave slammed into them and dragged them out to sea.

“One of the boys told me when the water hit them, it was like a demon coming at them,” Elyjah’s dad previously told The Post, adding that his son couldn’t swim.

Elyjah Chandler, 16, with his mother Aminatu Noah. Aminatu Noah/Facebook

A bystander, who saw the boys get struck by the wave and struggle in the water, leaped into the surf but was unable to pull them to safety.

Despite being scared of the ocean, Elyjah — who would have been 17 on June 28 — had skipped basketball practice to join his friends at the beach before the tragedy struck.

The Coast Guard called off the search days later after sweeping about 600 square miles of open ocean.

Chandler and his wife had visited the beach almost daily since the boys vanished to stand in vigil in the hopes that their bodies would be found.

Now that they’ve been recovered, Chandler said he feels “a bit better” knowing Elyjah’s home.

“To me, it’s a small step forward. I’m not going to recover from this,” Chandler said.

“That was important — me getting him back.”