Funeral held for boy, 14, found drowned in Los Angeles River
SAN FERNANDO, Calif. (AP) — About 1,000 people have turned out to honor a 14-year-old boy who was found drowned in the Los Angeles River after a storm.
A funeral service for Elias Rodriguez was held Saturday at a church in his Sylmar neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
The teenager vanished on Feb. 17, leaving a phone message for his mother saying he was walking home from school.
His body was found on a tree-covered island in the river last weekend. Police say he may have slipped or fallen into a storm-swollen wash a dozen miles upstream and been swept away.
On Friday night, more than 1,000 people held a candlelight vigil at the San Fernando school the boy attended and then threw white flowers from a bridge over the wash.
