Sean Evans Missing Person Case

Sep 17, 2009

Jan 18, 2022

Sean

Evans

44

2

36 inches

45 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On the afternoon of May 17, 1984, in Watertown, New York, a sense of ordinary family life was shattered in an instant. Two-year-old Sean Evans, a little boy with blond hair and green eyes, was happily playing with a red ball in his family's yard on Water Street. His younger brother was nearby in a playpen. At approximately 5:30 p.m., his mother, Connie, stepped inside their home for just a couple of minutes to answer a telephone call. When she came back outside, the yard was still, but Sean was nowhere to be seen. At the time of his disappearance, the young boy was wearing a yellow jacket, red pants, and blue sneakers with white stripes. The moments following the realization that Sean was gone were filled with immediate and widespread action. A massive search was launched, with neighbors, volunteers, and firefighters joining police to comb the area. A primary focus of the initial search was the Black River, which flowed swiftly behind the Evans' home. The discovery of the red ball Sean had been playing with on the driveway near the riverbank fueled the theory that he may have accidentally fallen into the water. Divers searched the river, but no trace of the little boy was ever found. This lack of evidence led Sean's family and some investigators to believe that an abduction was more likely, especially since his family said he was afraid of the water. The Watertown Police Department even consulted a psychic in an effort to gain new leads, but the visions provided did not lead to any discoveries. Decades have passed since Sean Evans vanished from his yard, yet the case remains open and unsolved. His family has endured years of uncertainty, holding onto the hope that one day they will have answers about what happened to their son. In the years following his disappearance, public awareness campaigns were initiated, including featuring his photo on soft drink bottles and distributing thousands of posters nationwide. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has created age-progressed images to show what Sean might look like as he grew older. The core of the case remains a deeply troubling mystery: a two-year-old boy disappeared in a brief two-minute window from the seeming safety of his own yard. Despite extensive searches and enduring investigative efforts, no definitive evidence has ever surfaced to explain what happened on that spring day, leaving a painful void for his loved ones and community.

May 17, 1984

Watertown

New York

Jefferson County

13601

No

25951

Watertown Police Department

Watertown

New York

Jefferson County

13601

Chris Thomas

751 Waterman DR, New York

3157862601

Local

Law Enforcement

https://www.watertown-ny.gov/index.asp?nid=123

DWTN0533

Watertown Police Department

7261

Blond/Strawberry

Green

Green

No

09/10/2026