Autistic NJ teen’s final moments caught on video amid brutal winter cold

💔 Missing since Jan. 24, Plainfield resident Connor Oldfield was found dead in a brook

💔 Police say ICE was not involved, countering earlier speculation from his mother

💔 Community mourns as city leaders urge compassion

PLAINFIELD — An autistic 19-year-old missing since Jan. 24, whose mother speculated that he might have been accidentally arrested by ICE, was found dead in a body of water that had frozen during some of the coldest and snowiest weather in years.

The body of Connor Oldfield was recovered in the ice-covered Green Brook near the Roosevelt Avenue bridge, Plainfield Police Director James T. Abney said. The brook is a narrow stream that runs through backyards and parks.

Despite weeks of searching in snowy and freezing conditions, investigators said Oldfield drowned in the brook just a half hour before his mother reported him missing to police.

Officials said they had video five days before the body was found, "of an individual believed to be Connor becoming fully submerged in the brook at approximately 2:17 p.m. on Jan. 24."

The medical examiner said there were no signs of foul play, meaning the drowning was accidental.

Home surveillance video path to doom

Police said video cameras show that Oldfield left his home that day at 1:11 p.m. and walked from Watson Avenue a few blocks toward the Green Brook. At 1:43, a camera spotted him bear the stream behind the 600 block of East Front Street, less than a mile away from his home.

A video shows Oldfield falling waist-deep into the freezing water at 1:45 p.m. He then continues along the brook to the Roosevelt Avenue bridge, where at 2:17 p.m., he is seen falling into the book again and becoming submerged for 10 seconds.

After police received this video, they began investigating to determine the identity of the person in the brook.

On Feb. 19, city rescue teams break through "a considerable amount of ice" ijn the brook and find Oldfield's remains.

Mayor Adrian Mapp asked residents to give the family the space they need to grieve and to refrain from social media speculation.

"This is not the outcome any of us wanted and it is a loss that will be felt throughout Plainfield. We grieve with Connor Oldfield's family and we ask the entire community to hold them close in compassion, prayer and quiet support," Mapp said in a written statement.

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Community-wide search drew regional law enforcement support

Officials said police immediately began searching the neighborhood as soon as his mother reported him missing at police headquarters at 3:03 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 24.

At 4 p.m., Oldfield's phone was pinged, which located it within a 3,000-meter radius of the 10 block of Sanford Avenue. Police said they opted not to use a police drone because of weather conditions and an incoming snowstorm the next morning. A Nixle alert was sent to the community at 6:42 p.m. and the State Police was notified at 8 p.m. Local police continued searching with extra officers on duty until midnight.

Officials said they continued their search, with the aid of police dogs from the Union County Prosecutor's Office and Union County Sheriff's Office, the next morning even during the snowfall.

On Monday and the weeks after, investigators continued door-to-door canvassing, grid searches, visual checks of bodies of water in Plainfield, following up on leads and informing the media.

Residents of the city came together with large searches, according to TAP into Plainfield. The city's detective bureau was focused exclusively for two weeks on trying to find Oldfield and enlisted help from law enforcement around Union County.

A $1,000 reward had been offered for information to find him. The Plainfield Luminary said that the reward money will be donated to Connor's family.

His mother at one point thought he had been taken into custody by ICE because they had been in Plainfield when he first went missing, and he was not carrying his ID. Abney told NJ.com that one of his officers spoke with ICE and was told that it was not the case.

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