He was 15 and gaming online. Then he disappeared in New York City.

A family says their 15-year-old disappeared two weeks ago in New York City, where they believe he went intending to meet someone he met online.

Thomas Medlin was last seen on Friday, Jan. 9 around 5:30 p.m. at Grand Central Station in Manhattan. That afternoon, he left Stony Brook School around 3:30 p.m. and took the train from Long Island to New York City, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. 

Midday on Jan. 28, the Suffolk County Police Department shared an update about Medlin clarifying that the department doesn't believe his disappearance is linked to social media or online gaming. 

"Under the issuance of subpoenas and search warrants, an examination so far of multiple social  media/online gaming profiles and forensic examination of electronic devices associated with Medlin was conducted," the department shared.

Medlin was always a well behaved kid, who had never done anything drastic without family permission. So when he unexpectedly traveled to NYC, his parents were shocked and overwhelmed. When a friend of Medlin tipped them off to checking his Roblox accounts, they started there, according to an interview with "Fox and Friends."

It opened up a conversation about child safety and Roblox, one of the largest kids gaming platforms in the world. Roblox has nearly 83 million daily active users, and 42% of its global player base is under the age of 13, meaning there are approximately 34.9 million children playing daily.

The boy’s mother, Eva Yan, said in an interview with News 12 Long Island that the behavior is out of character for her son.

“He has never left us,” she said through tears.

She added in an interview with "Fox & Friends" that she had allowed Medlin to have a Roblox account set up with her email address, and there she received notifications regarding his account permissions. However, she now knows he had secretly set up his own account by creating a separate email address, bypassing the safety features Medlin had in place. 

“I just want him to know we love him deeply, and he's not in trouble at all,” Yan says. “We just want him to tell us he's safe.”

Roblox told People magazine in a statement that the company is "deeply troubled by this incident" and "working with law enforcement to support their investigation.”

"Roblox is built with safety at its core, including robust policies to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms," the statement read. "We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information and don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day."

Roblox did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Roblox has faced criticism over handling of child safety

Created in 2006, Roblox now hosts more than 40 million games, known as “experiences.” Robux, its in-game currency, powers these virtual realities, and players use this in-game cash to purchase new avatars and accessories, or to get premium in-game features in popular games like Grow a Garden or Dress to Impress.

Currently, attorneys general around the country – in states such as Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas – are scrutinizing Roblox. Simultaneously, there are nearly 80 active lawsuits against Roblox with claims tied to sexual predation.

A California man was arrested after authorities charged him with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl he initially communicated with on Roblox and Discord. An Oklahoma mother alleged that a man posing as a 15-year-old boy on the platform sexually extorted her 12-year-old daughter and threatened to hurt her family if she didn’t send more photos and videos.

When the mom brought the exploitation to the police, they told her the suspect was an offender with a history of sexually inappropriate behavior. The complaint and similar ones filed by the firm Gould, Grieco & Hensley call Roblox “a haven for adult sexual predators and pedophiles.”

“This is a fertile hunting ground for children,” Matthew Dolman, managing partner of Dolman Law Group, previously told USA TODAY. As of December, their firm had received more than 3,600 inquiries from families about abuse on Roblox. “Roblox is materially misrepresenting the safety of their product, to both their shareholders and the general public.”

Roblox historically used self-reported age sign-ups to safeguard users under 13 from accessing features like private chat messaging and voice chat, but as of Jan. 7, a new AI-powered age estimation feature is mandatory for users looking to use Roblox's chat bar feature. The company hopes the feature, which has rolled out to mixed reviews, will help address criticism the company has faced for allowing child and adult users to interact.

How to stay safe on gaming apps 

Stranger danger and sexual abuse on the internet has been an issue for decades, but safety experts say modern technology has exacerbated it. Now, predators have near-constant access to children via smartphones.

Ben Gillenwater, a cybersecurity expert known as the “Family IT Guy” on TikTok, said that parents should open up conversations with their children about safe game play online, adding that the best thing parents can do is turn off chat features manually.

Roblox’s global head of parental advocacy, Elizabeth Milovidov, previously told USA TODAY about the importance of properly setting up parental controls on Roblox or any other similar app. Roblox’s parental controls allow parents to manage privacy and communication settings, with stricter oversight for users under 13.

If users encounter a predator online, they should report the person’s account but keep their own documentation of all messages, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. A paper trail with time stamps and messages can be vital for finding a criminal's identity.

Victims should block the predator and report the abuse to authorities by using NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 800-843-5678, tips.fbi.gov/home or the Know2Protect Tipline at 833-591-5669.

The article has been updated to include new information.

Rachel Hale’s role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at [email protected] and@rachelleighhale on X.