News: Boy Missing in Brooklyn
(Long Island, N.Y.) A community has come together in recent hours in hopes of locating a nine-year-old boy from Borough Park, Brooklyn. The boy went missing after leaving a summer camp and police and authorities have joined concerned citizens in the search. The boy, named Leiby Kletzky, is from a Hasidic Jewish Orthodox community called the Shomrim of Borough Park.
The nine-year-old has received a great amount of media attention in addition to an enormous response from the Borough Park community. His story has been covered in an endless variety of Jewish Community newspapers and websites. Kletzky disappeared from the streets of Borough Park at roughly five on Monday evening after getting out of the Boyan Day Camp.
The camp is located on 44th Street and 12th Avenue and the boy was supposed to meet his mother on a nearby street corner. He has been described as being four-feet-and-four-inches tall and weighing an estimated fifty pounds. He has fair skin and light brown hair.
Kletzky was last seen wearing black glasses, a gray/light blue striped shirt with a button and green, white, and blue stripes, a black belt, navy pants, and black sneakers. He had been carrying around a blue knapsack with the words “Nechmod Day Camp” written on it. Reports stated that police and authorities on the case believed to have found the knapsack at one point in the investigation, but soon realized that they had been mistaken.
Members of the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol had seen Kletzky on a surveillance video. The video shows him walking along 13th Avenue and 50th Street and reports stated that he had been originally walking with a friend. Surveillance footage captures him walking alone, however it does not show the boy traveling past his last known location.
Some have claimed that the Shomrim of Flatbush have close relations with police precincts, while others have stated that the Orthodox community often keeps its affairs private. Nonetheless, police and authorities on the case have urged the public to call Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline with any information about Kletzky’s whereabouts. The boy is believed to be in good mental and physical health and responds to his name “Leiby.”
A five-thousand-dollar reward is being offered to anyone leading to Kletzky’s safe return. An estimated two-thousand people took the streets looking for him, setting up a command post at 57th Street and 15th Avenue for volunteers aiding in the search. Within the first twelve hours of the boy’s disappearance, hundreds went looking through every back and front yard, park, and up and down the neighborhood.
Many volunteers searched through the night and have claimed that they are not taking chances when it comes to finding the boy. In addition to setting up posters, calls to residents, and loudspeaker announcements, a Twitter page has been established in attempts to locate the nine-year-old.
The New York City Police Department has employed special K-9 and aviation units in search for the boy. It’s uncertain whether foul play is involved in his disappearance and whether the case is being considered suspicious.
