IMO, it’s a yarmulke. In my experience/opinion only (hopefully this is allowed, I am new!), the style of head covering that someone wears often gives some indication of where they fall on the very broad spectrum of observant religious Judaism. For example, men in very “observant” (strict/traditional) communities (Hasidim, etc.) often wear hats (sometimes with a yarmulke underneath), while some “Modern Orthodox” men might only wear a yarmulke when they go to synagogue or when they’re going about their personal lives, but not necessarily in other contexts (e.g., work). Then there are groups in between these two ends of the spectrum* - i.e., not quite as traditional in their customs as Hasidim, but also not as modern as Modern Orthodox; IMO, his appearance seems closer to one of these in-between groups - traditional enough that he’s wearing a hat on the left (possibly at a wedding or bar mitzvah or something) but modern enough that he’s wearing just a yarmulke (albeit a very prominent one) and what looks like fairly “regular” clothes on the right. Assuming this is the case, the clothes he’s described as wearing when last seen don’t strike me as a clear red flag (as someone else was asking earlier in the thread), especially if he was going to be traveling, but practices vary a LOT, even among different families in the same community, so it could be that it would be highly unusual for HIM to be wearing that outfit.
To me, the statement from the spokesperson comes off as though this disappearance was not the first indication of an issue. It just seems strange to jump to all the stuff about how he does want to be a part of the community even if he’s having issues he doesn’t understand right now unless there’s some previous relevant context.
* This obviously doesn’t even take into account Reform or Conservative Judaism, which have their own customs and practices, it just seems clear from all the references to him being frum that he’s somewhere in the Orthodox category.
