Etan Patz

Etan Patz

Etan Kalil Patz (/ˈeɪtɑːn ˈpeɪts/; October 9, 1972 - declared legally dead in 2001) was an American child who was six years old when he disappeared in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on May 25, 1979. He is arguably the most famous missing child of New York City. His disappearance helped spark the missing children's movement, including new legislation and various methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the mid-1980s. Etan was the first ever missing child to be pictured on the side of a milk carton.

In 2010, the New York County District Attorney's office reopened the case into Patz's disappearance. In April 2012, the FBI excavated a basement near the Patz residence, which revealed no new evidence.

On May 24, 2012, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced that a man was in custody who had implicated himself in the Patz disappearance. According to The New York Times, a law enforcement official identified the man as Pedro Hernandez, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, and said that he had confessed to strangling Etan Patz. Hernandez, age 51, was an 18-year-old convenience store worker at the time of Patz's disappearance. On November 14, 2012, a New York grand jury indicted Hernandez on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. His lawyer has stated that Hernandez was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder, which includes hallucinations. According to a New York Times report from 25 May 2012, the police had at that time no physical evidence to corroborate Hernandez's confession.

In November 2012, Hernandez was formally charged with Patz's murder and kidnapping.