On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared in the Soho neighborhood of New York City walking to the school bus stop. He was never seen again.

On the morning of his disappearance, Etan's parents Stan and Julie agreed to let Etan walk the two blocks to his school bus stop alone. He had been asking them for weeks for permission and the Patzs' reluctantly agreed.

Julie Patz said goodbye to her son in front of their apartment building and then returned upstairs, tending to her younger son, who had a sleepover with friends at the house the previous night. The family was getting ready for a trip later that day. Etan walked west on Prince Street, headed toward the school bus stop. But by late afternoon, when Etan had not returned home, the Patz's realized something terrible had happened.

UPDATE: Pedro Hernandez, 56, was convicted of Etan Patz's murder on February 14, 2017