Missing Long Island boy, 15, may have traveled to NYC to meet with someone he met on Roblox: report
A missing Long Island teen was last seen at Grand Central Terminal two weeks ago — and police now believe he planned to link up with someone he met on a popular online game, his worried mother said.
Thomas Medlin, 15, was reported missing after leaving the Stony Brook School campus around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 and running to the Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road Station, where he caught a train to the Big Apple, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
The Saint James boy was captured on surveillance footage arriving at Grand Central about two hours later — and hasn’t returned home or been heard from since.
Thomas Medlin was last seen at Grand Central Terminal two weeks ago — and police now believe he planned to link up with someone he met on a popular online game.Suffolk County Police Department
“He has never left us,” his devastated mother, Eva Yan, sobbed to News 12 Long Island, as she revealed chilling new details into the search for her missing son.
She said investigators believe the teen met someone online through Roblox and arranged to connect with them in New York City — something the heartbroken mom said is completely out of character for her son.
Police recently told the family that the boy’s phone was located in Lower Manhattan and he was recently spotted on surveillance video in Brooklyn, Yan told the outlet.
Medlin’s last known location was near Cherry and Rutgers Streets in the Lower East Side.
“I just can’t believe why he left in the first place,” his tearful father told the outlet, with Yan stressing that they “just want him to be safe.”
Medlin’s distraught parents have teamed up with friends to organize search parties across Long Island and New York City since the youngster vanished.
Medlin was reported missing after leaving the Stony Brook School campus around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 and running to the Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road Station.google maps
Roblox told The Post that it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
“We are deeply troubled by this incident and are working with law enforcement to support their investigation,” a spokesperson for the online game said in a statement.
“Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms. We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information and don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing,” the statement continued.
The Saint James boy was captured on surveillance footage arriving at Grand Central about two hours later — and hasn’t returned home or been heard from since.AFP via Getty Images
“While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day. Given this involves an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
Sources said an internal investigation didn’t reveal any suspicious activity in the boy’s disappearance.
Police said the approximately 130-pound, 5-foot-4 teen was last seen wearing a black jacket with red stripes, dark sweatpants with white stripes and a black backpack and glasses.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Suffolk County’s Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.
