The disappearance of 15-year-old Thomas Medlin from Saint James, Long Island, has taken a deeply unsettling turn with the latest revelations from Suffolk County Police. On January 28, 2026, authorities released an update confirming shocking surveillance details that place the teen on the Manhattan Bridge moments before his phone went silent and a mysterious disturbance appeared in the water below.

Thomas vanished on January 9, 2026, after abruptly leaving The Stony Brook School around 3:30 p.m. Witnesses described him running to the nearby Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road station, where he boarded a train to Manhattan. He was captured on camera at Grand Central Terminal around 5:30 p.m., dressed in a black jacket with red stripes, dark sweatpants with white stripes, a black backpack, and glasses—his last widely circulated public sighting before the bridge footage.

Extensive video canvassing and digital evidence review pinpointed his final confirmed location: the pedestrian walkway of the Manhattan Bridge at approximately 7:06 p.m. Three minutes later, at 7:09 p.m., his cell phone registered its last activity—no further pings, calls, or data transmissions. Authorities have described this as the device simply “stopping transmitting,” a detail that has fueled widespread speculation.

Then came the most chilling element: less than a minute after the phone cutoff, at around 7:10 p.m., a nearby surveillance camera recorded what police officially termed “a splash in the water” in the East River directly beneath the bridge. The footage shows a sudden disturbance on the surface—described in media reports as an “ominous splash”—with no corresponding visual of Thomas or anyone else departing the walkway via pedestrian exits or paths. Police have emphasized that Thomas was never seen leaving the bridge through any monitored route.

This sequence has prompted the “shocking footage confirmed” narrative circulating online and in news coverage. Authorities acknowledge the video captured movement beneath the bridge—interpreted as the splash—shortly after Thomas’s last phone interaction. However, they have deliberately avoided labeling the timing as anything more than observed fact, stating only that the events occurred in close succession. No official statement has clarified whether the splash was coincidental, related to Thomas, or perhaps caused by something unrelated like debris, wildlife, or another object. Investigators have not ruled out possibilities such as an accidental fall, intentional act, or other explanations, but the tight timeline—phone silence followed almost immediately by water disturbance, with no exit sighting—has led many observers to infer a tragic plunge into the frigid East River currents.

The Manhattan Bridge, a iconic suspension structure connecting Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, features a shared pedestrian and bike path elevated high above the water. In January, water temperatures hover near freezing, and strong tidal flows make survival unlikely without immediate rescue. No body has been recovered as of late January 2026, and search efforts—potentially involving river patrols, divers, and sonar—continue quietly amid the ongoing missing person investigation.

Early speculation linked Thomas’s disappearance to online gaming, specifically a possible meeting arranged via Roblox after family concerns surfaced. Police, however, conducted forensic reviews of his devices, social media, and gaming accounts under legal authority and found no evidence connecting these to his vanishing. They have stressed the absence of criminality indicators or third-party involvement based on current evidence.

The case has sparked intense public interest, with appeals for dashcam footage, cell phone videos, or any sightings from the Canal Street, Manhattan Bridge, or Brooklyn areas between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on January 9. Tips are directed to Suffolk County Police at 631-854-8452 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Thomas is remembered by his family and community as a quiet, typical teenager passionate about gaming and surrounded by loved ones. His mother had previously voiced fears about online connections, but cleared digital trails have shifted focus to the bridge events. The lack of clarification on the splash’s significance leaves a haunting ambiguity: was it a mere coincidence in a busy urban waterway, or the final, silent marker of a young life interrupted?

As the investigation presses on into its third week, the “shocking footage” serves as both a grim clue and a painful reminder of how quickly hope can turn to uncertainty in missing persons cases.