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Disappearance of Etan Patz

SOLVED2010SoHo, Lower Manhattan (near Prince Street and West Broadway)2 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Etan Kalil Patz was a six-year-old boy who disappeared on the morning of May 25, 1979, in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. That day he was permitted to walk the roughly two blocks from his family's apartment on Prince Street to his school bus stop by himself for the first time. He never reached the stop, never arrived at school, and was not seen again. A large police search began that evening and expanded over the following days, but no trace of him was found.

The case drew sustained national attention and reshaped how missing children were treated in the United States. Photographs of Etan, many taken by his father, a professional photographer, appeared on posters and were among the first to be printed on milk cartons. In 1983, May 25 — the anniversary of his disappearance — was designated National Missing Children's Day. Etan was declared legally dead in 2001, though his body has never been recovered.

For years the investigation considered several possibilities without producing charges in Etan's case. In 2010 the Manhattan District Attorney's office reopened the matter, and in 2012 investigators searched a basement near the family's former home. Shortly afterward, Pedro Hernandez, who had worked as a teenager at a convenience store in the neighborhood in 1979, was taken into custody. He confessed that he had lured Etan into the store's basement, killed him, and disposed of the body. His defense argued that the confession was false and unreliable, citing a documented mental illness and a low IQ.

Hernandez was charged with kidnapping and murder. His first trial, in 2015, ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. At a retrial, he was found guilty in February 2017 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The conviction was the subject of extended appeals. A state appellate court upheld it in 2020. In July 2025 a federal appeals court overturned the conviction, finding that the trial judge had given the jury an inadequate answer to a question about how to treat Hernandez's confessions. Prosecutors announced plans to try him again. Before a retrial took place, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and, on June 22, 2026, reinstated the conviction in a 6-3 decision, holding that the federal appeals court had exceeded its authority. The 2017 guilty verdict and sentence therefore remain in place. Hernandez's attorneys continue to maintain that he is innocent. Etan Patz's remains have never been found.

Key facts

Victims
Etan Patz
Date
2010
Location
SoHo, Lower Manhattan (near Prince Street and West Broadway)
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1972-10-09

    Etan Kalil Patz is born in New York City.

  2. 1979-05-25

    Etan disappears while walking alone to his school bus stop in SoHo, Lower Manhattan; a police search begins that evening.

  3. 1983

    May 25 is designated National Missing Children's Day in the United States.

  4. 2001

    Etan Patz is declared legally dead; his body has never been recovered.

  5. 2010

    The Manhattan District Attorney's office reopens the investigation.

  6. 2012-04

    Investigators search a basement near the Patz family's former home.

  7. 2012-05-24

    Pedro Hernandez is taken into custody and confesses to killing Etan.

  8. 2012-11-14

    A grand jury indicts Hernandez on kidnapping and murder charges.

  9. 2015-05

    Hernandez's first trial ends in a mistrial after the jury deadlocks.

  10. 2017-02-14

    At a retrial, Hernandez is found guilty of kidnapping and felony murder.

  11. 2017-04-18

    Hernandez is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

  12. 2020

    A New York state appellate court affirms the conviction.

  13. 2025-07-21

    A federal appeals court overturns the conviction, citing an erroneous jury instruction about the confessions.

  14. 2025-11

    The Manhattan District Attorney's office announces Hernandez will be retried.

  15. 2026-06-22

    The U.S. Supreme Court reinstates the conviction in a 6-3 decision, and the retrial does not proceed.

Best coverage

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People

  • Pedro Hernandez

    CONVICTED

    Former convenience-store worker convicted in February 2017 of kidnapping and felony murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. The conviction was affirmed on state appeal in 2020, overturned by a federal appeals court in July 2025 on jury-instruction grounds, then reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 22, 2026 (6-3); the conviction stands. His attorneys maintain he is innocent and dispute the reliability of his confession.

    citation on file

  • Etan Patz

    VICTIM

    Six-year-old boy who disappeared on May 25, 1979 while walking to his school bus stop in SoHo, Manhattan. He was never found and was declared legally dead in 2001.

    citation on file

Places

SoHo, Lower Manhattan (near Prince Street and West Broadway)

40.7253, -74.0016

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Etan Patz, a six-year-old boy, vanished while walking to his school bus stop in Manhattan in 1979; decades later Pedro Hernandez was convicted of his kidnapping and murder, a verdict upheld after appeals.
Where did the disappearance happen?
SoHo, Lower Manhattan (near Prince Street and West Broadway).
Who was convicted?
Pedro Hernandez (Former convenience-store worker convicted in February 2017 of kidnapping and felony murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. The conviction was affirmed on state appeal in 2020, overturned by a federal appeals court in July 2025 on jury-instruction grounds, then reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 22, 2026 (6-3); the conviction stands. His attorneys maintain he is innocent and dispute the reliability of his confession.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Disappearance of Etan Patzwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-06
  2. Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patznews · CBS News · 2026-07-06

Last verified JUL 2026

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