After four days and an extensive search, Nassau County police say a young man's body that was found in a wooded part of Roosevelt has been identified as 16-year-old Angel Soler.
The teen had gone missing in July, and over the phone his mother said she thinks the street gang MS-13 is behind the murder.
Lilian Oliva-Santos's son, Kerin Pineda, was friends with the victim and also went missing in February last year. She fears that he was also killed by the ruthless gang.
According to police, MS-13 was behind the brutal murders of several teenagers in wooded areas in Massapequa and Central Islip. So far, police have not said if the gang is connected to this case.
The search kicked off on Thursday after police received a tip from someone described as a person of interest.
Federal and local authorities descended on the crime scene, including teams from Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE.
Oliva-Santos says she can't help but think about how the violence that she tried to escape in her home country of Honduras followed her family here.
"I brought my son from Honduras because I thought they would be safe. I never thought this would happen to my son," she says.