A teenage boy has been missing for two weeks after allegedly rushing from his Long Island, New York prep school into Manhattan to meet someone he met on Roblox, according to a statement from the boy's family.
Thomas Medlin left the Stony Brook School on Friday, January 9, at around 3:30 PM ET to reportedly catch a train from the Long Island Rail Road station to Grand Central, where surveillance footage spotted him at about 5:30 PM ET. In an interview with Long Island news outlet News 12, his mother, Eva Yan, said this is uncharacteristic of her son, who excels in school.
"He has never left us," Yan said. "Everyone loves him. With the weather coming [in] cold, you know, we have checked the homeless shelter, looking for the locations."
The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) shared a press release on January 12 regarding Medlin's last known whereabouts. According to the SCPD, Medlin is a white, 5' 4" teen who weighs 130 pounds and was last seen wearing a black jacket with red stripes, dark sweatpants with white stripes, a black backpack, and glasses. Detectives investigating this case told his family that they believe Medlin had rushed off into Manhattan to meet someone he allegedly met on Roblox. According to News 12, the detectives reportedly located Medlin's phone in lower Manhattan and spotted him on surveillance video somewhere in Brooklyn, New York.
Roblox has responded to the incident, with a spokesperson telling People that the company is "deeply troubled" by the situation and working with law enforcement to support the ongoing investigation.
"Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms," the spokesperson said. "We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information and don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day. Given this involves an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time."
The company posted a longer statement on X on January 25, saying that it "followed our standard process and immediately began an investigation [and] searched for any previous law enforcement inquiries." After a thorough review of the incident, the company revealed the following information about Medlin's case:
"We are holding Thomas and his family in our hearts as we hope for his safe return," the company said. "We will continue to provide our full support to law enforcement throughout their investigation. We are committed to safety."
Medlin's father, James Medlin, told News 12 that he is concerned and shocked by his son's behavior.
"I just can’t believe why he left in the first place," he told News 12.
Meanwhile, his mother, Yan, is thinking about his safety.
"We just want him to be safe," she told News 12.
SCPD is asking that anyone with information regarding Medlin's whereabouts contact the Fourth Squad Detectives at 631-854-8452 or call 911.
Roblox has been in hot water in the past year, particularly regarding its handling of child safety. After reports exposed child predation on the platform, the company has sought to implement safety measures--like age-verification features and face-scanning technology--to protect the mostly underage children that the game. Despite these efforts, the company has seen a slew of lawsuits from states like Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas who say developer Roblox Corporation isn't doing enough to protect the kids that populate the platform. Co-founder and CEO David Baszucki responded to the concerns, but his answers didn't go over well.
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Thomas Medlin left the Stony Brook School on Friday, January 9, at around 3:30 PM ET to reportedly catch a train from the Long Island Rail Road station to Grand Central, where surveillance footage spotted him at about 5:30 PM ET. In an interview with Long Island news outlet News 12, his mother, Eva Yan, said this is uncharacteristic of her son, who excels in school.
"He has never left us," Yan said. "Everyone loves him. With the weather coming [in] cold, you know, we have checked the homeless shelter, looking for the locations."
The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) shared a press release on January 12 regarding Medlin's last known whereabouts. According to the SCPD, Medlin is a white, 5' 4" teen who weighs 130 pounds and was last seen wearing a black jacket with red stripes, dark sweatpants with white stripes, a black backpack, and glasses. Detectives investigating this case told his family that they believe Medlin had rushed off into Manhattan to meet someone he allegedly met on Roblox. According to News 12, the detectives reportedly located Medlin's phone in lower Manhattan and spotted him on surveillance video somewhere in Brooklyn, New York.
Roblox has responded to the incident, with a spokesperson telling People that the company is "deeply troubled" by the situation and working with law enforcement to support the ongoing investigation.
"Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms," the spokesperson said. "We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information and don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day. Given this involves an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time."
The company posted a longer statement on X on January 25, saying that it "followed our standard process and immediately began an investigation [and] searched for any previous law enforcement inquiries." After a thorough review of the incident, the company revealed the following information about Medlin's case:
- No attempts to direct him to an off-platform communication method
- No sharing of off-platform contact information, including usernames, phone numbers or other communication methods
- All chat content was consistent with typical in-game discussions
- No indication that he used voice chat
"We are holding Thomas and his family in our hearts as we hope for his safe return," the company said. "We will continue to provide our full support to law enforcement throughout their investigation. We are committed to safety."
Medlin's father, James Medlin, told News 12 that he is concerned and shocked by his son's behavior.
"I just can’t believe why he left in the first place," he told News 12.
Meanwhile, his mother, Yan, is thinking about his safety.
"We just want him to be safe," she told News 12.
SCPD is asking that anyone with information regarding Medlin's whereabouts contact the Fourth Squad Detectives at 631-854-8452 or call 911.
Roblox has been in hot water in the past year, particularly regarding its handling of child safety. After reports exposed child predation on the platform, the company has sought to implement safety measures--like age-verification features and face-scanning technology--to protect the mostly underage children that the game. Despite these efforts, the company has seen a slew of lawsuits from states like Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas who say developer Roblox Corporation isn't doing enough to protect the kids that populate the platform. Co-founder and CEO David Baszucki responded to the concerns, but his answers didn't go over well.
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