A Long Island family is desperately searching for a missing teen boy. Liam Stark was last seen by his family when his brother dropped him off at school. But according to video surveillance, the boy never went inside the building. Although his reasons for disappearing are not fully known, his mom did indicate that he was going through emotional turbulence.
On the morning of October 17, 2025, the 14-year-old was dropped off at William Floyd High School, the Suffolk County Police Department shared in a news release. Around 7:10 a.m., video footage showed him leaving school grounds and walking to the Dunkin’ in the area. He was reported missing by his family around 2:30 p.m. that same day.
“According to the school’s cameras, he started walking to the school and then you can watch him contemplate if he’s going in or not,” his mom, Christy Stark, told News 12.
The surveillance video also shows the teen wiping away tears before walking away from the school. Stark shared that her son has been dealing with personal trauma lately, and instead of seeking help, she believes he may be trying to handle it on his own.
Whatever he’s been feeling may have driven him to try and solve his problems. But of course, his disappearance could be putting him in more danger, especially the longer he remains missing. Still, the family is holding out hope the teen will return to them safely.
“I think that in a very wounded way, this was his ‘I can make it,’” she said via News 12. “I am sending love to him, and I hope he can feel it wherever he is and that it can help him come home.”
Liam Stark is a white male who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 155 pounds, with blond hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing navy blue sweatpants with a black hooded sweatshirt and black sneakers, police said.
As of October 21, Liam still hadn’t returned home, and his family had no new leads. Christy Stark spoke with her local Patch, saying she didn’t know he was missing until one of her other sons told her he didn’t see his brother on the school bus home. She suggested that maybe the teen was “slouched down in a seat,” but he wasn’t on the bus at all, she learned.
When she checked with the school, she learned he hadn’t swiped in for school that day.
“That’s when the alarms went off,” she said, per Patch. “I said, ‘I have to call the police!’” But by the time she did, her son had been missing for hours. “He had all that time to be wandering; we were really late to the game, to find him.”
Thanks to video surveillance, Stark has been able to track Liam’s initial steps. “We were able to follow Liam’s steps from school to Dunkin’ to the CVS in Shirley, where he dumped his books,” she said. “Then, he sort of wandered next door to a gas station and headed off to Kohl’s across the street.”
She believes that he might have taken clothes from Kohl’s. The next time he was spotted, his backpack was reportedly “really full.”
A woman claimed to have seen Liam on Saturday morning across the street from a Long Island Railroad station. Authorities believe it’s possible that he got on a train, but there’s no surveillance to back it up.
“It was very clear, at that point, that Liam was definitely walking completely on his own,” his mother said. “That Saturday morning sighting is the last we’ve had.
“He’s managed to evade people,” she added.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on Liam’s location to call 911 or the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.
