On December 29, 2025, 17-year-old Ethan Richards, a male juvenile from the Eldorado and Eaton area of Preble County, Ohio, was reported missing after last being seen in Eaton, Ohio. The limited public information available describes Ethan’s disappearance in practical, urgent terms: a young person vanished from a small western Ohio community, and the details released by authorities focus on identifying him and helping the public recognize him.
The Ohio Attorney General’s missing-persons poster states that Ethan was last seen wearing black sweatpants, a black Ohio State hoodie, a red Ohio State coat, gray Jordan shoes, and carrying a black backpack. Authorities also noted that he has a scar on his left forearm, a distinguishing feature that could help someone recognize him.
The public record does not provide a detailed account of what Ethan was doing before he disappeared, who he may have been with, or whether he was believed to be traveling in a particular direction. What is known is that his case was significant enough to be listed through the Ohio Attorney General’s missing children database, with the Preble County Sheriff’s Office identified as the agency to contact with information. The Sheriff’s Office is based in Eaton, the county seat, and publicly lists its phone number as 937-456-6301, matching the contact number associated with Ethan’s missing-person notice.
For families and communities, the disappearance of a 17-year-old carries a particular kind of fear because so much can be unknown in the early stages: whether the teen is safe, whether they have access to shelter, food, transportation, or a phone, and whether they understand how many people are searching and waiting for word. In Ethan’s case, the released information centers on the facts most useful to recognition: his age, gender, last-seen date, last-seen area, clothing, backpack, and physical identifying mark. Ohio’s statewide missing-persons resources explain that law enforcement agencies and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office work together to locate and recover missing children and adults, and that open missing-persons cases may be viewed through the Attorney General’s website.
No publicly available source reviewed here states that Ethan Richards has been found alive or located deceased, and no confirmed public resolution was located. Because of that, the public narrative remains centered on the last confirmed information: Ethan was 17 years old when he was last seen on December 29, 2025, in the Eaton/Eldorado area of Preble County, Ohio, wearing dark Ohio State clothing, a red coat, gray Jordan shoes, and carrying a black backpack. The overview of the case is that Ethan Richards is a missing male juvenile whose disappearance was documented by Ohio authorities, with Preble County officials asking anyone who may have seen him or knows where he is to contact law enforcement so his family and community can receive answers.Last Seen: Dec 29, 2025
