| Tristen Alan Myers |
 |
| DOB: July 16th, 1996 Age:12 Height: 3'1" (94 cm) Weight: 38 lbs (17 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde Missing since October 5th, 2000 from Roseboro, NC Circumstances: Tristen's photo is shown age-progressed to 11 years. Myers moved to Roseboro, North Carolina in August 2000 to live with his great-aunt and great-uncle. He wandered away from his family's residence on October 5, 2000 while his great-aunt was napping and has never been heard from again. Myers was accompanied by his dogs Sasha, a Doberman, and Buck, a three-legged Chihuahua, at the time of his disappearance. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans and Mickey Mouse tennis shoes. An extensive search was conducted in a ten-acre section of wooded land near Myers's home shortly after his disappearance. No evidence concerning his whereabouts was located and the search was scaled down on October 10, five days after he was last seen. Buck returned to Myers's house later that day and the search was resumed, but authorities were unable to locate the child. Sasha walked back to the house on October 14. Neither dog showed any signs of having been in the woods. Myers never returned. Myers's great-aunt and great-uncle say he was angry and disruptive while he lived with them. He hit other children and bit and scratched himself. He attacked and killed one of their dogs eleven days prior to his disappearance, and was taken to a mental hospital to undergo a battery of tests. Doctors found that Myers was emotionally and physically underdeveloped, but they were unable to do a complete evaluation of him as he could not seem to understand simple directions, and could only speak a few words. Three days after being released from the hospital, Myers wandered away from his home. A neighbor found him half a mile away and returned him. Three days after that, he vanished for the final time. In February 2003, a man named Ricky Quick brought a six-year-old boy to a hospital in Evanston, Illinois to be treated for "aggressive behavior". Ricky complained that the boy had broken windows and threatened people. He said the boy, whom he called Eli Quick, was his stepson. Ricky then abandoned the child in the hospital emergency room. Eli was unkempt and filthy, appearing as though he had not bathed or changed clothes in several days. Hospital employees, suspecting abuse, notified child welfare and he was taken in foster care. Eli's former neighbors said he often panhandled and ran around alone in the middle of the night, never went to school, and had to bathe at other people's houses. Eli was unable to answer simple questions about his background for social workers and spoke of several different mothers. A public records check for Ricky showed that Eli did not appear listed anywhere as his son. Thinking Eli might be a missing child, authorities notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Someone noticed that Eli's picture, resembled Myers's. Eli had scars similar to Myers, and also a speech impediment like Myers has. Ricky insisted that he had not kidnapped the child, but he gave several different stories as to how he came by him. Ricky said Eli was the product of an extramarital affair, the son of his wife who died in a car accident in Colorado in May 2002. Eli had been in the same accident and was so badly injured he had to be transported to the hospital in a helicopter. Authorities at the time noticed that Ricky did not seem to care about Eli and wondered if Eli really belonged to the family, but no action was taken at that time. In spite of the strong physical resemblance between the two boys, DNA tests conducted in May 2003 conclusively ruled out the possibility that Myers and Eli were the same person. Eli remains in foster care. Police are still suspicious of Ricky's story and are trying to verify the boy's identity. Myers is still missing. Myers was born in Mississippi, the child of a fifteen-year-old stripper and an unknown father. His grandparents had custody of him, but he was sent to live in North Carolina with relatives after his grandfather accidentally ran over him with a car. A year later, the woman caring for Myers became terminally ill and send him to live with his great-aunt and great-uncle. He disappeared from there. Myers enjoys horseback riding and swimming. His family describes him as a friendly and curious child. Authorities believe Myers was probably either abducted by a stranger, or possibly fell into a pond and drowned. His case remains unsolved |
 |