‘I’m at a loss of words:’ Family of missing 17-year-old speaks after human remains found

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Human remains were found in Douglasville on Saturday in an area between Arbor Station and Douglas Boulevard, police say.

According to police, this is one of the last known locations of a missing 17-year-old who was last seen a month ago.

“I’m sad. I’m at loss of words,” said Andrew Kathuri.

You can hear the hurt and pain in Andrew Kathuri’s voice on Sunday as he spoke to Channel 2′s Larry Spruill.

“(I’m) confused a little bit. I’m on an emotional rollercoaster. His memories and reality are coming together,” said Kathuri.

Kathuri is trying to sort out his emotions after he got the news about his son, 17-year-old Yuron Kathuri.

The family told Channel 2′s Larry Spruill that Yuron disappeared in September near the Arbor Place Mall. Family and friends arranged several search parties since then to look for Yuron.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

His dad told Spruill on Saturday that police found his son’s body hours before he called Spruill near a retention pond behind the mall.

“I was looking at my son’s room today. It’s an empty bed, an empty room,” Kathuri said. He added that he had expected a knock on the door or a phone call from his son saying, “Hey, Dad. I’m here. Come pick me up.”

RELATED STORIES:

• Police: Human remains found in Douglasville, near where 17-year-old was last seen
• Police searching for teen boy after his car was found at Georgia mall
• ‘This is unusual for him:’ Douglasville family continues search for missing 17-year-old
• Teen turned away from mental health facility, went missing days later, family says
• Family of missing 17-year-old Douglasville teen hoping for answers

It didn’t happen.

“When the detectives came and knocked on our door and broke the news, it was the hardest day yesterday,” Kathuri said.

Yuron’s family and friends are now dealing with the terrible news, but at the same time, they want to focus on positive memories.

“In July, we did a road trip from here to North Carolina,” Kathuri said. “He just got his license. He was so excited. He asked me, ‘Dad, can I do the driving?’”

Andrew said it’s those memories he will forever remember as he grieves. However, he still has questions.

“On one hand, did he kill himself, or was there foul play?” Kathuri asked. “The thing is, at least I have closure now. He was found. At least we’re not looking in Alabama, some city somewhere. At least he was found.”

But he said there’s one thing he doesn’t doubt, and that’s the fact that he loves and misses his son.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Charges against rapper Lil Durk dropped in connection to 2019 shooting incident at The Varsity

©2022 Cox Media Group