Police in New York City need the public’s help locating a child whose mother claims he never existed. NYPD Crime Stoppers released a police sketch of missing 11-year-old Jacob Pritchett, who neighbors claim they haven’t seen in weeks. The boy reportedly has autism and is nonverbal, and neighbors fear something bad has happened to Jacob.
The New York Daily News reported that police said witnesses last saw Jacob at a residence on East New York and Howard avenues in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Authorities did not provide an exact timeline, but it has reportedly been weeks since anyone has last seen the boy. A New York City Police Department spokesperson told the Daily News the department had no actual photos of the boy and that officials are doing the best they can with a sketch.
“That’s all we have at this time. What we have, we put out,” the source said.
Neighbor Evelyn Rolon told the Daily News she often saw Jacob looking out the window but that he didn’t come outside to play with the other kids in the neighborhood.
“We’d be chilling outside, and you’d see the boy in the window,” she shared. “He had a little car he played with. He never came out. He didn’t go to school.”
Police sources told the Daily News that the Administration for Children’s Services became involved in the case on September 25, 2025, after receiving a hotline call concerning Jacob. When agency officials first visited the home, the unnamed mother refused to let them in. She finally relented when police arrived but adamantly stated she could not bear children and did not have a son.
Despite her denials, the agency found a birth certificate, according to ABC 7. The document lists the woman as Jacob’s mother.
The New York Post reported that police questioned Jacob’s mother, who was taken to a hospital and admitted as an “emotionally disturbed person.” The police department also brought in a K-9 unit to search the home, and it detected human blood by the refrigerator but did not find Jacob. Thus far, prosecutors have not charged the mother with a crime.
Neighbor Crystal Burrell told ABC 7 she worries about Jacob. He never attended public school, but she would also see him in the window of his apartment. Sadly, that stopped weeks ago.
“I would always see a little boy in the window playing with his toys by himself making noise, and since all of this has taken place, I realized to myself like, the boy is not in the window no more. I haven’t seen him like all summer,” she said. “All summer, he has not been in the window, so it’s a sad situation.”
Because of Jacob’s inability to speak, he won’t be able to identify himself if he’s still alive. He would also likely be terrified. This is such a sad and confusing story. Hopefully, his mother will be able to tell authorities what really happened to Jacob, and he will get the justice he deserves.
