Etan Patz: The missing child who changed America

On May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment in SoHo, New York City, to walk to school by himself. It was the first time he had been allowed to walk alone. He never made it to school.

Etan's disappearance was one of the first cases to capture national attention, and it helped to change the way America thinks about missing children. Before Etan, missing children were often seen as runaways or victims of parental neglect. But Etan's case showed that even the most innocent children could be abducted.

In the days and weeks after Etan's disappearance, police searched tirelessly for him. They interviewed neighbors, searched buildings, and even drained the Hudson River. But they found no trace of Etan.

Etan's parents, Stan and Julie Patz, refused to give up hope. They founded the Etan Patz Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has helped to find thousands of missing children over the years.

The case remained a mystery until in 2012, a man called a hotline and told police he believed his brother-in-law, a then-teenaged deli worker named Pedro Hernandez, was responsible. Hernandez confessed to the crime in 2015, saying he strangled the boy to death in the basement of the deli after luring him with the promise of a soda. In his 50s, Hernandez was sentenced to 25 years to life.