Whether Pedro Hernandez will be retried or set free remains to be seen, but the case of Etan Patz continues to haunt those involved. The missing child case of six-year-old Etan Patz marked the “stranger danger” era and a reckoning across the country as to how disappearances are handled by law enforcement.
The ruling on Monday brings back into focus the man who was originally the main suspect in Etan Patz’ disappearance for decades – Jose Antonio Ramos. Ramos, now 82, was friendly with a woman who babysat Patz and had been in the family’s house on the day of the disappearance. An itinerant, he lived in a drainpipe which he furnished with a bed, religious items, and children’s toys. A police search also found Ramos had several pictures of him with young boys in his makeshift home, taken in Times Square near an X-rated cinema.
Ramos once told a federal prosecutor that he was “90 percent sure” he met Etan near Washington Square Park the day he disappeared. He admitted he tried to have sex with the boy, but the child refused. He claimed he then put the boy on a subway to Washington Heights. Ramos was convicted of sexually abusing an 8-year-old male minor in Pennsylvania in 1990 and served 27 years in prison on two child sex offenses.
Etan’s parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, brought civil charges against Ramos and won a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit, but he was never charged criminally. In 2016, amid the prosecution of Hernandez, they asked a judge to reverse the decision against Ramos, stating they now believed Hernandez was the perpetrator of the crime.
Pedro Hernandez confessed to the 1979 murder of Etan Patz, stating he lured the boy into a bodega basement, strangled him, and disposed of his body. However, no physical evidence connects him to the crime, and there are no witnesses that place him with Etan the day he vanished. Hernandez’s first trial ended in a mistrial, but he was convicted in a second trial in 2017.
The case of Etan Patz remains a mystery, with conflicting accounts and lack of physical evidence leaving many unanswered questions. The ruling on Monday only adds to the complexity of the case, as the fate of Pedro Hernandez hangs in the balance, and the shadow of Jose Antonio Ramos continues to linger over the investigation.
After serving his time in prison, the man convicted in the disappearance of Etan Patz remains on the New York sex offender’s register as a category three sexually violent offender. This classification indicates that he is considered to be at a high risk of repeating his offense and poses a threat to public safety. Despite being out of prison, he has reportedly left the country, with his last known address being in the Philippines.
The case of Etan Patz marked a turning point in New York, signaling the end of a period of relative innocence. The nationwide search for Etan made him the first missing child to be featured on milk cartons, capturing the hearts of the nation. The unresolved mystery of his disappearance continues to haunt those who were close to him, such as Susan Meisel, who vividly remembers the day before he vanished.
For many in the neighborhood where Etan lived, his disappearance changed their lives forever. Parents became more cautious, and some even made the decision to move away. Despite the passage of time, the pain and uncertainty surrounding Etan’s disappearance remain fresh in the minds of those who knew him.
Etan’s parents, Julie and Stan Patz, held onto hope for their son’s return for years, refusing to leave their Soho loft until 2019 when they quietly relocated to Hawaii. The lack of closure and answers surrounding Etan’s case continues to weigh heavily on those who were connected to him.
Despite the lack of physical evidence linking the convicted man to Etan’s disappearance, the case has had a lasting impact on the way missing children cases are handled. President Reagan declared May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day in memory of Etan, leading to the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This tragedy also spurred companies to join the efforts to find missing children, with big retailers like Walmart participating in spreading awareness.
The disappearance of Etan Patz remains a tragic and unresolved chapter in New York’s history, serving as a reminder of the importance of child safety and the ongoing efforts to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
