An investigation remains ongoing and "potential charges for individuals who may have helped conceal Tristan or obstruct law enforcement are pending"
NEED TO KNOW
- Tristan King, 9, was last seen in Baltimore in September, the city’s mayor, Brandon M. Scott said in a news release on Friday, March 13
- Earlier that same day, Tristan was found at a house in the Curtis Bay area, about two miles from where he was last seen
- The investigation remains active and “potential charges for individuals who may have helped conceal Tristan or obstruct law enforcement are pending”
A nearly six-month search for a 9-year-old Baltimore boy finally ended after police found him a short distance from where he went missing, the city's mayor announced.
Tristan King was found and safely recovered on the morning of Friday, March 13, at a house in the Curtis Bay area, after the Baltimore Police Department's Missing Persons Unit received a tip, Mayor Brandon M. Scott said in a news release.
Tristan had been missing since Sept. 24, 2025, the mayor said. He was last seen in the neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is about two miles from the area he was found.
Tristan was taken to a hospital for medical and psychological evaluation, the mayor said
"I share the relief and gratitude of all of the Baltimoreans who have hoped and prayed for Tristan's safe return for months," Scott said in a statement.
He went on to thank Baltimore police, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other law enforcement agencies that "worked tirelessly to bring Tristan home, as well as the community members who came forward with information to help investigators."
The statement noted that the investigation remains active and that "potential charges for individuals who may have helped conceal Tristan or obstruct law enforcement are pending."
Officials said they would release no additional details to protect the child's privacy and well-being.
The Baltimore Police Department said in a March 7 statement on its social media accounts, that detectives had searched throughout the Brooklyn community — including businesses and the homes of known relatives and associates, and that authorities believed adult relatives may be assisting in keeping Tristan hidden from officials.
When reached by PEOPLE on Friday, a police spokesperson declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
According to The Baltimore Banner, Tristan was in the care of a great-aunt before he went missing — but the outlet reported that at some point she turned him over to Maryland’s Department of Human Services.
His legal guardian is his grandmother Donna White, who had a stroke last year and has been living in a nursing home since, according to the newspaper.
She cried when she learned Tristan had been found and told the Banner that they'd had a chance to speak on the phone Friday. "I told him I want to see him," White told the outlet. "He said he wants to see me, too."
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The Maryland Department of Human Services will determine where Tristan goes next, according to police.
"We are grateful to the law enforcement partners and community members who came together to find Tristan," Human Services spokesperson Ben Shnider said in a statement to PEOPLE. "Now that he has been located, we are focused squarely on making sure that he receives the medical attention and support that he needs."
Gov. Wes Moore stressed that "the first priority now is making sure Tristan is safe, supported, and surrounded by the care he needs to begin healing."
"We owe Tristan action, not excuses," Moore added, "and we will keep working to make sure no child falls through the cracks like this again."
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