The concerned Franklin Township parents called Palisades Interstate Parkway police on Saturday, Feb. 4, and told them their son had been missing for two days, Lt. Raymond E. Walter said.
"They were able to track their son's cell phone to the area of the cliffs, located just south of Stateline Lookout in Alpine," the lieutenant said.
The couple then went there, checked the area and discovered the backpack with his belongings, Walter said.
Parkway police eventually found the son's body at the base of the cliffs, he said.
Members of the East Bergen Rappel Team recovered the body, which was given to the Bergen County Medical Examiner's Office to determine the official cause of death, the lieutenant said.
The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Investigation also collected evidence as part of the Parkway police investigation, he said.
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