Etan Patz

Etan Patz
Etan Patz photographed on September 16, 1978
Born	Etan Kalil Patz (1972-10-09)October 9, 1972 Manhattan, New York, United States
Disappeared	May 25, 1979 (aged 6) SoHo, Manhattan, United States
Status	Declared dead in absentia 2001
Nationality	American
Known for	First missing child to appear on a milk carton
Home town	Manhattan, New York, United States
Parent(s)	Stanley Patz Julie Patz

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Age progression of Patz to age 17

Etan Kalil Patz (/ˈeɪtɑːn ˈpeɪts/; born October 9, 1972; declared legally dead in 2001) was an American boy who was six years old when he disappeared in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, on May 25, 1979. His disappearance helped create the missing children movement, including new legislation and new methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk-carton campaigns of the early 1980s. He was the first missing child to be pictured on milk cartons. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan designated the anniversary of Etan's disappearance (May 25) as National Missing Children's Day in the United States.

In 2010, the case was reopened by the New York County District Attorney's office. In 2012, the FBI excavated a basement near the Patz residence, but discovered no new evidence. A confessed suspect, Pedro Hernandez, was charged and indicted later that year on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. In 2014, the case went through a series of hearings to determine if Hernandez's statements before receiving the Miranda warning were legally admissible at trial. His trial began in January 2015 and ended in a mistrial in May when one of the twelve jurors held out. A retrial began on October 19, 2016.

On the morning of May 25, 1979, Etan left his SoHo apartment by himself for the first time, planning to walk two blocks to get on a school bus at West Broadway and Spring Street. He was wearing a blue captain's hat, a blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue sneakers. He never reached the bus stop.