A Long Island teen missing for more than two weeks may have traveled to New York City to connect with a person he met online through the gaming app Roblox, according to his family, who’s asking for the public’s help to bring the boy home.
Thomas Medlin, 15, left the Stony Brook School campus on Jan. 9 around 3:30 p.m., according to a statement from Suffolk County police. From there, he ran to the Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road Station, where he caught a train into the city.
Some two hours later, Medlin was caught on surveillance cameras at Grand Central Station around 5:30 p.m. His family has not heard from him since.
According to the AWARE foundation, a nonprofit that works to spread the word about missing people, the teen was also spotted on Jan. 10 in Lower Manhattan near Henry Street. He was later seen in Brooklyn, near Sands and Jay street, News 12 Long Island reported.
“He has never left us,” his devastated mother, Eva Yan, tearfully told the station, saying family and friends have been looking for the boy nearly every day, organizing search parties across Long Island and in the city.
She said detectives believe Medlin arranged a meet-up with a person he met online, but noted the move was out of character for her son.
“I just can’t believe why he left in the first place,” his father added.
Authorities describe Medlin as 5-foot-4 and 130 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. Photos released by police show him last wearing a black jacket with red stripes, dark sweatpants, a black backpack and glasses.
Anyone with information about the missing teen is asked to contact Suffolk County’s Fourth Squad Detectives at (631) 854-8452.
