Watch CBS News

Missing YouTube Star 'Etika' Found Dead In East River, Police Say

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The NYPD has announced that the body of a popular YouTube star has been found a week after he was reported missing.

Desmond Amofah, known as "Etika" to thousands of followers on social media, was reportedly pulled from the East River Tuesday morning.

The 29-year-old had gone missing after posting a disturbing video to his popular YouTube channel on June 19 – the video had fans and authorities fearing for his safety.

Amofah gathered a large fan base through his vlogs on video games. The 29-year-old had over 300,000 followers on both Twitter and Instagram. He reportedly had over 130,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel before it was shut down due to his last disturbing post.

Amofah had posted an apology video on his channel which has since been taken down by YouTube. Some have called for YouTube to restore the video in memory of his final words to his friends and followers.

Police have not released any other details regarding Amofah's death.

Anyone with any information is asked to call NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or is needs to talk, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or one their website at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.