Etan Patz
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| Etan Patz | |
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| Born | Etan Kalil Patz 9 October 1972 |
| Disappeared | May 25, 1979 (aged 6) Manhattan, New York |
| Status | Missing |
| Died | Legally declared dead in 2001 |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Known for | Kidnap victim |
| Home town | Manhattan, New York |
| Parents | Stanley Patz Julie Patz |
Etan Kalil Patz (October 9, 1972 – unknown; legally declared dead in 2001[1]) was a kidnapped American child. He was 6 years old when he disappeared in lower Manhattan, New York on May 25, 1979. At the time, news coverage of Patz's disappearance was made into a media circus in the New York City area. He is arguably the most famous missing child of New York City.[2] His disappearance helped spark the missing children's movement, including new legislation and various methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the mid-1980s. Etan was the first child ever to be pictured on the side of a milk carton.[3]
On May 25, 2010, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. announced that he had reopened the case into Patz's disappearance.[4]
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[edit] Disappearance
On the morning of Friday, May 25, 1979, 6-year-old Etan Patz put on his prized blue captain's hat and left his SoHo apartment by himself, for the very first time, to walk the two blocks to catch the school bus. He did not reach the bus stop.
When he did not return home from school at 3:30 that afternoon, his mother reported him missing. An intense search, using nearly 100 police officers and a team of bloodhounds, began that evening and would continue for weeks. Various circumstances surrounding this case, such as it being Etan's first time outside alone, made it a high-profile, media-driven case.
[edit] Suspect
In 1991, jailhouse informants claimed that Jose Antonio Ramos, a convicted child sexual abuser imprisoned in Pennsylvania, finally admitted to direct involvement in Etan's disappearance. Ramos had been a friend of Etan's one-time babysitter.[5] In a special feature on missing children, the New York Post reported on October 23, 1999, that Ramos was the prime suspect in Etan's disappearance. Ramos was known to the Patz family and was the prime suspect all along, but in the early 1980s they were still unable to prosecute Ramos. Ramos was declared responsible for Etan's death in 2004 in a New York civil case but remains unprosecuted.[5]
Etan's parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, pursued this civil case against Ramos.[6] They were awarded a 'symbolic' sum of $2 million, which they have never collected. Ramos is presently serving a 20-year prison term for child molestation in the State Correctional Institute, Dallas, PA. His scheduled release date is November 7, 2012.[3]
Each year, on the anniversaries of Etan's birthday and disappearance, Stan Patz sends Ramos a copy of his son's missing child poster. On the back he types the same message: "What did you do to my little boy?" [3][5][1]
[edit] National Missing Children's Day
The day of Etan Patz's disappearance, May 25, has been designated National Missing Children's Day.[2]
[edit] Literature
On May 7, 2009, Lisa R. Cohen published her book After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive, detailing the case and its effect on America.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Cohen, Lisa R. (3 May 2009). "What happened to Etan Patz". New York. http://nymag.com/news/features/56441/. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ a b Ramirez, Jessica. "The Abductions That Changed America". Newsweek, 29 January 2007, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b c Haberman, Clyde (14 July 2011). "A New Horror Recalls Another". The New York Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/a-new-horror-recalls-another/. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ "District attorney reopens case of first missing child on milk carton". CNN. 26 May 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/26/new.york.1979.missing.child/index.html?hpt=C2.
- ^ a b c Berman, Thomas; Sher, Lauren (26 May 2010). "Etan Patz Case Reopened 31 Years Later". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/etan-patz-missing-boy-case-reopened-31-years/story?id=10749565. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ Saulny, Susan (5 May 2004). "Judge Rules That a Convicted Molester, Now in Prison, Is Responsible for Etan Patz's Death". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C13FA35590C768CDDAC0894DC404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fK%2fKidnapping.
- ^ Cohen, Lisa R. (2009). After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0446582514. http://books.google.com/books?id=pz7ov90EpEoC&dq=after+etan&hl=en&ei=KwsiTo6-I8iJhQeKtvWTAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA.
