On Wednesday, Suffolk County police reported that 15-year-old Thomas Medlin, who vanished from Long Island, was seen on surveillance footage walking across the Manhattan Bridge just moments before a nearby camera caught a mysterious splash in the East River.
While authorities have not definitively stated that the St. James teen, who went missing after leaving school on January 9, jumped into the water, they did point out that the footage does not show him exiting the bridge.
“There are no signs of criminal activity,” the police shared in a press release. They emphasized that detectives are keeping Medlin’s family informed about the ongoing investigation, which continues in collaboration with other investigative partners.
This unsettling information marks the first insight into Medlin’s situation since he disappeared after being expelled from Stony Brook School, a prestigious institution with tuition exceeding $70,000 for boarding students.
Initially, investigators suspected that Medlin had gone to meet someone he encountered on Roblox, an online gaming platform. However, it seems this possibility has yet to be verified.
According to police, the boy left school around 3:30 p.m. on the day he went missing, taking a Long Island Rail Road train to Grand Central Terminal, where he was first captured on camera.
They noted he was seen on the Manhattan Bridge sidewalk at 7:06 p.m., with his last cell phone activity recorded just three minutes later at 7:09 p.m.
Around a minute after that, at 7:10 p.m., “surveillance cameras in the vicinity caught the water spray.” Authorities pointed out that “Medlin was never seen leaving the bridge at the trail exit.”
Despite attempts to reach the boy via his cell phone, investigators were unable to make contact.
Meanwhile, Medlin’s mother, Eva Yang, expressed her hope of his safe return during an appearance on Fox & Friends, reassuring viewers, “He’s safe. No one is going to harm him.”
In a related development, Roblox stated they are cooperating fully with law enforcement in the investigation, expressing their deep concern about the situation.
