LAWRENCE, Mass. — The decapitated body of 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino was found near the Merrimack River on Thursday afternoon, police said. His head was found nearby on the bank of the river.

Paulino was last seen at his grandmother’s house in Lawrence, a city of 75,000 near the New Hampshire border, on Nov. 18. The Lawrence High School sophomore left his phone and wallet in his room before he went missing.

Carmen Checo, a friend of Paulino’s mother and a local school bus driver, said she has been looking everywhere for the boy. She was at the scene asking police for answers.

“He was a good boy,” she said. “He’s very loved at home.”

Paulino’s friend Andrew Lozano, 17, said he has known Lee since elementary school. He has been looking for him as well. He doesn’t think Lee would have run away from home.

“Every time I’ve seen him at school, he was happy and talkative,” Lozano said.

State and Lawrence police are investigating. As darkness fell, the fire department set up high-intensity lights at the scene.

State and local detectives crowded the riverbank. A boat was on the river, aiding in the search.

Harmacinski writes for the North Andover, Massachucetts Eagle-Tribune.