Tristen Alan Myers
Tristen, circa 2000; Age-progression at age 19 (circa 2015)
- Missing Since 10/05/2000
- Missing From Roseboro, North Carolina
- Classification Non-Family Abduction
- Sex Male
- Race White
- Date of Birth 07/16/1996 (28)
- Age 4 years old
- Height and Weight 3'1, 38 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A black t-shirt, blue jeans and white Mickey Mouse sneakers.
- Medical Conditions Tristen may require medical attention, particularly psychiatric attention. He had severe behavioral problems at the time of his disappearance and was althought to be suffering from attention deficit disorder, though the condition had not been formally diagnosed. He is described as emotionally and physically underdeveloped.
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Tristen has scars on the left side of his neck and on the top of his head. He has a speech impediment. His leg has been previously broken. Tristen's nickname is Buddy. Some agencies spell his first name "Tristan."
Details of Disappearance
Tristen 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. Tristen was accompanied by his dogs Sasha, a black Doberman puppy, and Buck, a tan three-legged Chihuahua mix, at the time of his disappearance.
An extensive search was conducted in a ten-acre section of wooded land near Tristen'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 Tristen'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. Tristen never returned.
Tristen'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 psychiatric hospital to undergo a battery of tests. Doctors there found that Tristen 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 speak only a few words.
Three days after being released from the hospital, Tristen wandered away from his guardians' home. A neighbor found him half a mile away at a farm and returned him. Three days after that, he vanished for the final time.
Tristen was born in Mississippi, the child of a fifteen-year-old mother and an unknown father. His mother was later killed in a car accident in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Tristen's grandparents originally had custody of him, but he was sent to live with other relatives after his grandfather ran over him with a car in a drunk driving accident. A year later he went to live with his great-aunt and great-uncle. He disappeared from there.
Authorities believe Tristen was probably either abducted by a stranger, or fell into a pond and drowned. His case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Sampson County Sheriff's Office 910-592-4141
Source Information
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Child Protection Education of America
- America's Most Wanted
- The Winston-Salem Journal
- The Chicago Sun-Times
- The Denver Post
- CNN
- Child Seek Network
- NBC 5 WMAQ TV Chicago
- NBC 17 News
- Child Search Ministries
- ABC 7 Chicago
- The Daily Record
- WRAL News
Updated 6 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 14, 2016; age-progression updated.