Etan Patz, One of the First Missing Children on a Milk Carton

In May 1979, Etan Patz, then six years old, left his parent’s apartment in Soho, Manhattan. He never returned home, and it would be decades before Patz’s case would be solved. The notoriety of his disappearance, however, would label him as one of the first “milk carton kids.”

After Patz’s disappearance, authorities began searching the surroundings neighborhoods, until Patz’s information was eventually transcribed on milk cartons. While the program had begun a few years earlier, Etan Patz’s disappearance led to the milk cartons containing his information being distributed all over the country, according to All That’s Interesting. President Reagan would also acknowledge May 25th, the day of Patz’s disappearance, as National Missing Children’s Day.

Authorities continued acting on leads, but the case remained unsolved. The first supposed breakthrough in the case occurred years later, when Jose Ramos was arrested on charges of child molestation. Ramos would confess that he was somewhat sure that Patz was the boy he had attacked, according to Crime Museum. However, because of lack of evidence, Ramos was never convicted for Patz’s disappearance, and the trail went cold. Additionally, Othniel Miller, a man known to the Patz’s who had poured a concrete floor nearby, was also investigated, but his was also not convicted, according to All That’s Interesting.

It wouldn’t be until nearly forty years after Patz’s disappearance that Pedro Hernandez would confess to killing Etan Patz. The 2015 trial was met with controversy, with some believing that Hernandez was mentally ill and that the confession tactics used had forced him to make a false confession, according to All That’s Interesting. By 2017, the jury was unanimous, and Hernandez was charged with Patz’s murder.

Patz had been declared legally dead before his case was solved. To this day, advancements in recovering missing children have stemmed from the milk carton kids program. The public continues to search for missing children, also honoring their memory on May 25th.