NY NY - Thomas Medlin, 15, Stony Brook, 9 Jan 2026

[ChatteringBirds]

Please add additional information regarding Thomas' case. I hope he will be located safe very soon.

Have you seen this child? Thomas Medlin

Missing From: Stony Brook, NY. Missing Date: January 9, 2026. .

www.missingkids.org

Boy Missing for 2 Weeks Reportedly Traveled to N.Y.C. to See Someone He Met on Roblox

Thomas Medlin, 15, went missing after traveling into Manhattan from his Long Island, N.Y., school on Jan. 9. His mother believes he was heading into the city to see someone he met on Roblox.

people.com

Thomas, 15, went missing after traveling into Manhattan from his Long Island, N.Y., school on Jan. 9, 2026.
His mother believes he was heading into the city to see someone he met on Roblox.

 

[lonetraveler]

Oooh no! This really doesn't look good for this young boy.

 

[mlhenn]

EXCLUSIVE: St. James family seeks public’s help finding missing 15-year-old boy

Police say he traveled to Grand Central Terminal, where surveillance images captured him later that day. His family says they have not heard from him since.

longisland.news12.com

Police say Thomas Medlin was last seen Jan. 9 after leaving his school and boarding a train at the Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road station.
Police say he traveled to Grand Central Terminal, where surveillance images captured him later that day. His family says they have not heard from him since.

Police also informed the family that Medlin’s last known locations were near Cherry and Rutgers streets in Lower Manhattan and later near Sands and Jay Street in Brooklyn.

 

[mlhenn]

Missing Long Island boy, 15, may have traveled to NYC to meet with someone he met on Roblox: report

“He has never left us,” his devastated mother sobbed.

nypost.com

Police recently told the family that the boy’s phone was located in Lower Manhattan and he was recently spotted on surveillance video in Brooklyn, Yan told the outlet.

 

[mlhenn]

https://suffolkpd.org/Alerts/Press-Releases/ArtMID/10029/ArticleID/14352?/

Thomas Medlin, 15, of Saint James, left the Stony Brook School on Friday, January 9 at approximately 3:30 p.m. and ran to the Stony Brook Train station. He was last seen at Grand Central Station in Manhattan at approximately 5:30 p.m. the same day.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Missing Long Island boy, 15, may have traveled to NYC to meet with someone he met on Roblox: report

“He has never left us,” his devastated mother sobbed.

nypost.com

Police recently told the family that the boy’s phone was located in Lower Manhattan and he was recently spotted on surveillance video in Brooklyn, Yan told the outlet.

- Where was his phone located? Was the SIM card missing?

- When was he spotted in Brooklyn? Doing what? Was he alone?

- Is the F.B.I. involved in this case?

 

[Cryptic]

- When was he spotted in Brooklyn? Doing what? Was he alone?

I don't know if he was alone.

He was evidently spotted on the edge of the general 'Dumbo' area of Brooklyn. Though I am sure that NYC locals can give far more details, and that NYC might vary by the block in regards to safety, Dumbo has been gentrified and is now a trendy area.

Bad news, of course, is that sex predators do not need to operate from rough areas.

 

[moonglow123]

I don't know about the legal logistics, but I hope Roblox hands over any info they can. This person's identity should be easily accessible if Roblox will just hand over the data. Seems pretty clear he's staying with this person. Temps have been extremely cold so I assume he's not sleeping on the streets, and seems he'd be noticed fairly fast if he was showing up to a shelter.

Stony Brook School is a boarding school iirc. Wonder if he was unhappy there and that played a role in his decision to flee. I hope he'll be found safe.

 

[TMich6811]

I don't know about the legal logistics, but I hope Roblox hands over any info they can. This person's identity should be easily accessible if Roblox will just hand over the data. Seems pretty clear he's staying with this person. Temps have been extremely cold so I assume he's not sleeping on the streets, and seems he'd be noticed fairly fast if he was showing up to a shelter.

Stony Brook School is a boarding school iirc. Wonder if he was unhappy there and that played a role in his decision to flee. I hope he'll be found safe.

I was thinking this also - given the heat Roblox is in for not protecting kids - do they work well with LE or are they resistant. Not really asking you specifically I just haven’t heard really

 

[moonglow123]

Yeah, I truly don't know. I've heard they haven't been good with child protections in the past, as you’ve said. But I hope they'll hand over relevant info for a missing persons case. Even if this individual used a VPN, their device, email address, registration info, payment info, conversations with others etc. should all reveal their identity...

To not mince words, I’m glad we have proof Thomas is okay and alive, at least per him being caught on various surveillance videos. It seems like it’s just a matter of LE getting a hand on the Roblox partner’s info.

 

[Serononin]

This has shades of Andrew Gosden

 

[sunflowermomma]

Both cross streets he was seen at are close to the F line, they should be monitoring all F stops and reviewing station cameras. Being seen near the first stops on either side of the bridge makes me wonder if he was lost and missed a stop and ended up in the wrong borough.

During the day, there are almost always at least two police officers at most train stations in NYC. They are usually scrolling on their phones, looking down. I hope they are aware of this missing child. JMO

 

[swanniee11]

This is so concerning. I will say that this is the 3rd/4th missing person issue that Roblox has been named in a missing person case. I never heard of it before until these reports of missing kids. Praying he is located soon and safe. IMO

 

[mlhenn]

15-year-old boy missing after traveling to meet someone from Roblox, family says

A 15-year-old boy in New York has been missing for two weeks after reportedly traveling to see someone he met on Roblox.

www.wtoc.com

photo shared by police shows the 15-year-old wearing a backpack and holding a large object while walking on what appears to be a N.Y.C. subway train platform.(Source: Suffolk County Police Department)

 

[Cryptic]

This is so concerning. I will say that this is the 3rd/4th missing person issue that Roblox has been named in a missing person case. I never heard of it before until these reports of missing kids.

I had not heard of Roblox before this either.

As a side note, Roblox issued a statement detailing safety controls including parental review of activity and control over how their children use the system. The system also uses AI to help verify claimed ages of participants, then restricts certain content to certain ages while banning other content all together.

Then again, I have seen construction crews bypass inconvenient / "inconvenient" safety features on commercial saws by disassembling a component, then jamming styrofoam "peanuts" on detents etc. I would not be surprised if social media safety features can be outwitted as well.

 

[borndem]

Hoping for good news... but...

 

[dotr]

Roblox Looking Into Disappearance Of 15-Year-Old User

Roblox has issued a statement on the disappearance of a young user.

screenrant.com

Jan 26, 2026 rbbm
''In the original report from Long Island News 12, Medlin's mother stated that law enforcement suggested her son met someone on Roblox and planned a meet-up in person. However, a new statement from Roblox on social media (via Insider Gaming) suggests that there doesn't appear to be anything nefarious in the direct communications that Medlin had on the platform.''
''Medlin's disappearance is one of several deeply concerning stories that have surfaced in recent months, and Roblox remains adamant that they are dealing with these issues head on, doing everything possible to make a safe space for children. The Suffolk County PD has requested that anyone with information about Thomas Medlin's whereabouts should contact Fourth Squad Detectives at (631) 854-8452, or to call 911 immediately.''

 

[sunflowermomma]

Even if there was nothing nefarious in the roblox communications, many teens are taking convos off the game and communicating on discord, whatsapp, kik, tiktok, instagram, or even simply texting.

Roblox started as a children's game in 2006. However, many of the kids who have been playing the game since it launched are now adults in their 20s and 30s. It is still a children's game and current children sign up to play it, despite the fact that there are adults on the platform. There are many, many adults on the app interacting with young children in live chat. It's very weird and concerning. JMO.

"According to the company, their monthly player base includes half of all American children under the age of 16." - from the Roblox wikipedia.