Last Seen on Manhattan Bridge, Missing Teen Found Dead Off Red Hook
Thomas Medlin, 15, of Saint James, Long Island, left school for Grand Central Station on Friday January 9. He was last seen on the Manhattan Bridge pedestrian path that evening.
Red Hook /
| 16 Mar 2026 | 02:01
Photos of Thomas Medlin from a GoFundMe page started when the teen was still missing. His body was discovered on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn on March 10, more than a month after he had gone missing. (
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Flyer for missing teen Thomas Medlin on the Manhattan Bridge. (
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Missing Teen flyer posted on Seward Park Library book drop box. (
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The heartbreaking case of Thomas Medlin, the missing 15-year-old boy from Saint James, Long Island, who was last seen on January 9 on the Manhattan Bridge pedestrian path, reached its most dreaded conclusion after a dead body was spotted in the waters off Red Hook, Brooklyn, on Saturday March 10.
According to NYPD, “at approximately 1:30 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 499 Van Brunt Street, within the confines of the 76th Precinct. Upon arrival, officers observed an unidentified unconscious adult male floating in the water at the location. NYPD Harbor responded and removed the aided male from the water. EMS also responded to the scene and pronounced the aided male deceased on scene. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.”
This address is the southern end of Red Hook, and the waterfront home of the Food Bazaar grocery store and a pier-length 19th century brick warehouse containing stores, artist studios and workshops, all of which badly flooded during Hurricane Sandy in September 2012
While the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) subseuqently confirmed the “adult mule” was 15-year-old Medlin, many mysteries remain, not least why it took two months for his body to drift less than three miles.
Straus News recounted Medlin’s January 9 disappearance in early February, soon after the missing person flyers were posted all over the lower Manhattan waterfront.
Read the SCDP flyer: “Anyone who was in the Canal Street / Manhattan Bridge Brooklyn area on January 9, 2026 between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. and has any video footage of Thomas Medlin is urged to contact the Fourth Precinct. This includes Tesla vehicle cameras, taxi or rideshare cameras, cell phone videos or any other footage from that time.”
A subequent SCPD update noted that Medlin was last seen on the pedestrian walkway on the Manhattan Bridge at 7:06 p.m., while his last cell phone activity was recorded at 7:09 p.m. While no images could be found showing Medlin exiting the bridge, “A nearby surveillance camera captured a splash in the water at 7:10 p.m.”
Medlin’s family, meanwhile, was understandably bereft and hoped that Thomas had merely run away from Stony Brook School via the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan to meet a Roblox gaming friend from the internet, and that they loved him, and he wouldn’t be in any trouble when he came home.
Despite the Roblox angle, which revealed that Medlin had an e-mail account he kept secret from his family, Suffolk County police don’t believe that was the reason for his death. Their statement reads:
“Under the issuance of subpoenas and search warrants, an examination so far of multiple social media/online gaming profiles and forensic examination of electronic devices associated with Medlin was conducted. This examination has determined these platforms are not connected to his disappearance. There is no indication of criminal activity. Detectives have continuously communicated the department’s findings to Medlin’s family. The department is continuing to work with its law enforcement partners to bring closure to the family.”