Parents of Etan Patz Move Out of NYC 40 Years After Boy's Disappearance

Etan Patz
Carrie Boretz

Julie had watched Etan from the window of the Prince Street home as he walked to his school bus stop on May 25, 1979.

The parents of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who disappeared from a New York City street while walking to the school bus, have moved out of the city — 40 years after losing their son.

Julie and Stan Patz sold their Prince Street loft and moved to Hawaii, where their other son Ari lives, the New York Post reported. The apartment sold for nearly $4 million in July, according to Street Easy.

Ari Patz was just 2 when Etan went missing. The couple also have a daughter, Shira, who was 8 at the time.

Julie had watched Etan from the window of the Prince Street home as he walked to his school bus stop on May 25, 1979. It was the first time he was making the trek by himself.  

But Etan never made it home that day. His parents later learned that he never even made it to school. Droves of police officers and bloodhounds descended on the streets of Manhattan, but the boy was never found, and the case eventually went cold. He was declared legally dead in 2001.

Then, in 2012, a man confessed to police that he killed Etan. Pedro Hernandez, who was an 18-year-old stock boy at a bodega near Etan’s bus stop, was arrested and charged with murder. After his 2016 trial, he was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the little boy.

His remains have never been found.

President Ronal Reagan declared May 25 National Missing Children's Day in the U.S. on the fourth anniversary of Etan's disappearance. The designation spread worldwide in 2001, and May 25 became International Missing Children's Day.

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