Elijah Hassan Moore

Elijah, circa 2016; Yellow shirt Elijah was wearing

  • Missing Since 11/04/2016
  • Missing From Woodland, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race Black
  • Date of Birth 11/03/1999 (24)
  • Age 17 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'11, 165 - 200 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A black or gray hooded Acife sweatshirt, a yellow t-shirt with the Yolo County Construction Program logo, khaki Ben Davis pants, tan steel-toed work boots, white headphones and a green Volcom backpack. A photo of Elijah's t-shirt is posted with this case summary; it has the letters "NCCT", short for Northern California Construction Training, on the sleeve.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Elijah has a burn scar on his left hand, and his right thumb has been previously fractured. He has dimples in his cheeks. His nickname is Eli.

Details of Disappearance

Elijah was last seen in Woodland, California on November 4, 2016, the day after his seventeenth birthday. He attended school that day, then cashed a check at California Check Cashing in the 100 block of Main Street.

He has never been heard from again. His mother reported him missing on November 6. A text message sent from Elijah's cellular phone to a friend that same day said Elijah was en route to the San Francisco Bay area.

Elijah and his close friend Enrique Rios both attended Cesar Chavez Community School in Woodland. They attended classes in the morning and worked for the Northern California Construction Training program at the Yolo County Fairgrounds in the afternoon, earning money while learning carpentry skills.

Enrique went missing from his Esparto, California home three weeks before Elijah also disappeared. The two boys had other things in common: both of them were on probation for being involved in the same fight.

For the first few weeks, for lack of any evidence to the contrary, Enrique's case was treated as a runaway by authorities. It wasn't until after Elijah also disappeared that police began to look into other theories to explain what happened.

Elijah's family stated he was happy with his life and close to his mother and older brother, and that he was looking forward to attending college and possibly getting a degree in construction management. Although Enrique had run away from home before for a couple of days at a time, Elijah had no history as a runaway.

Investigators and the Moore and Rios families believe the two boys' disappearances are related. Although many agencies continue to classify them as runaways, Enrique and Elijah are considered missing under suspicious circumstances. Their cases remain unsolved.

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated November 14, 2017; casefile added.