New York boy, 15, missing after traveling to NYC to meet someone he met on Roblox, family says
The family of a missing 15-year-old Long Island boy says their son disappeared two weeks ago after going to New York City to meet someone he met through the online game Roblox.
Thomas Medlin left the Stony Brook School around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 and "ran" to the Stony Brook Train station, where he boarded a train to Grand Central Station in New York City, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a news release on Jan. 12.
Police released a surveillance image of Thomas at Grand Central Station, where detectives say he was last seen around 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 9.
Thomas’ mother, Eva Yan, told News 12 Long Island in an interview that detectives believe her son had gone to meet someone who he met through Roblox, an online game.
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Yan said that behavior was unlike Thomas.
"He has never left our side," Yan told the outlet through tears.
"I just can’t believe why he left in the first place," James Medlin, Thomas’ father, told the outlet.
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A Roblox spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an email statement on Sunday that it is "built with safety at its core" and offers parental controls that allow parents to completely disable the in-game chat function.
"We are deeply troubled by this incident and are working with law enforcement to support their investigation," the spokesperson said. "Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms. 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."
Yan said that family and friends have formed search parties in both Long Island and New York City in search of her missing son.
"Everyone loves him," she told the outlet.
Authorities asked anyone with information on the whereabouts of Thomas to call the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fourth Squad Detectives at 631-854-8452.