Chilling new details revealed in case of missing Long Island teen Thomas Medlin: ‘A splash in the water’
Missing Long Island teen Thomas Medlin was caught on surveillance video walking on the Manhattan Bridge — moments before the cameras recorded an ominous splash in the East River, Suffolk County police revealed Wednesday.
Cops stopped short of saying that the 15-year-old boy from St. James — who vanished after leaving school on Jan. 9 — somehow plunged into the icy waters, but noted that the footage does not show the teen leaving the bridge.
Thomas Medlin, 15, left school on Long Island on Jan. 9 and headed into Grand Central Terminal.Suffolk County Police Department
Suffolk County police said Medlin was last seen on the Manhattan Bridge hours after leaving his school on Jan. 9.Deccio Serrano/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
“There is no indication of criminal activity,” police said in a press release. “Detectives have continuously communicated the department’s findings to Medlin’s family. The department is continuing to work with its law enforcement partners to bring closure.”
The chilling new details offer the first hints of Medlin’s fate since he went missing after leaving Stony Brook School, a ritzy prep school that can cost more than $70,000 for students who live on campus.
Police said the teen walked off his school campus around 3:30 p.m. on the day of his disappearance and hopped on a Long Island Rail Road train to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, where he was first spotted on security cameras.
According to the Suffolk County Police Department, cameras then captured the teen on the pedestrian walkway on the Manhattan Bridge at 7:06 p.m. — with his last mobile phone activity recorded at 7:09 p.m.
“A nearby surveillance camera captured a splash in the water” just a minute later, at 7:10 p.m.,” police said.
Eva Yan told Fox & Friends this week that she wanted her son, 15-year-old Thomas Medlin, to return home.Family Handout
“Medlin was never seen leaving the bridge via path exits.”
Law enforcement sources said investigators had been pinging the boy’s phone but lost contact at that time.
Police initially believed Thomas Medlin was meeting a friend he met on the gaming platform Roblox.REUTERS
The teen’s mom, Eva Yan, pleaded on Fox & Friends Tuesday for her son to come home, promising, “he’s safe. Nobody’s going to harm him.”
Investigators initially believed Medlin ventured into the city to meet someone he met through the online gaming platform Roblox, but police said they later ruled out any connection between the site and the disappearance.
Roblox told The Post over that weekend that it was cooperating fully with the investigation.
“We are deeply troubled by this incident and are working with law enforcement to support their investigation,” a company spokesperson said in the statement.
SEARCH TAKES A TURN: After an item consistent with what Thomas Medlin was wearing was recovered less than 400 yards from the bridge, police redirected resources toward the river. Marine units are now focusing on a 1.2-mile stretch of water
The search for 15-year-old Thomas Medlin, missing since January 9, 2026, has taken a somber and urgent turn with the recovery of a key item consistent with clothing he was wearing that evening. Authorities recovered the article—described in reports as an item of apparel matching Thomas’s description—less than 400 yards from the Manhattan Bridge in or near the East River. This discovery has prompted Suffolk County Police to redirect significant resources toward river-based operations, with marine units now concentrating efforts on a targeted 1.2-mile stretch of water downstream from the bridge.
The find aligns closely with the investigative timeline released on January 28, 2026: Thomas was last captured on surveillance footage walking or pacing alone on the Manhattan Bridge’s pedestrian walkway at 7:06 p.m. His phone registered final activity at 7:09 p.m.—an abrupt mid-session cutoff experts attribute to sudden disabling, such as water immersion. One minute later, at 7:10 p.m., a nearby camera recorded a prominent splash in the East River directly below. No footage shows Thomas exiting the bridge via any pedestrian paths on either the Manhattan or Brooklyn side.
The recovered item, found in the days following the bridge evidence review, has shifted the focus from broader canvassing to intensive aquatic search. Marine units, supported by divers, boats, and possibly sonar or underwater drones, are scouring the specified 1.2-mile segment where currents could have carried debris or remains from the splash site. Winter conditions—cold water temperatures, variable tides, and low visibility—complicate the effort, but police have expressed determination to “bring closure” to the family. No confirmation of human remains has been made public, and the investigation continues without indication of criminal activity.
Thomas, a student at The Stony Brook School in Saint James, Long Island, left campus around 3:30 p.m. that Friday, rushing to catch a Long Island Rail Road train to Grand Central Terminal, where he arrived around 5:30 p.m. Early speculation tied his trip to meeting an online contact from Roblox, but Suffolk County detectives ruled out any Roblox-related connection after thorough digital forensics. The last message he received—“I’ll be there.”—led him to believe he was heading to meet someone, though the sender’s identity remains under scrutiny.
The clothing item’s proximity to the bridge—under 400 yards, likely washed ashore or snagged in shallows—strengthens the theory that Thomas entered the water during those critical 3-4 minutes. The tight clustering of evidence (sighting, phone death, splash, now the apparel) paints a picture of a sudden, unforeseen incident on the elevated walkway. The Manhattan Bridge, spanning the East River with its pedestrian path offering isolation amid city views, can feel remote at dusk in January.
Thomas’s parents, Eva Yan and James Medlin, have continued heartfelt public appeals, sharing their pain and urging tips from anyone in the Canal Street, Manhattan Bridge, or Brooklyn areas that evening. A reward remains for information or video leading to resolution. Community posts on social media and platforms like Reddit reflect growing sorrow, with many calling for expanded searches or dashcam submissions.
This development marks a heartbreaking escalation in a case that began as a routine teen trip into the city. The redirection to the river underscores the gravity: a 15-year-old’s final moments may have unfolded in seconds on a bridge over icy waters, propelled by a simple confirmatory message. As marine teams comb the 1.2-mile zone, hope persists for answers—whether recovery, confirmation, or a miracle turnaround—amid a family’s desperate wait for closure.
