Brand New Image Released To Help Find Anthony Murrill Who Vanished In 1971

Anthony Murrill’s mother reportedly left the front porch light on and his bicycle out front of their home for years in hopes her son would return. If you have any information on the Anthony Murrill case, please contact NCMEC directly: 1-800-THE-LOST.

March 24, 2023
A photo of Anthony Murrill at 9 years old [left]; Anthony Murill age-progressed to 61 years old [right].

9-year-old Anthony Murill vanished from his Atlanta housing project on Nov. 14, 1971. He hasn't been seen since.

Photo by: NCMEC

NCMEC

By: Crimefeed Contributor

The case may be more than 50 years old, but that isn't stopping the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) from pouring resources into finding where Anthony Murrill could be today.

On Nov. 14, 1971, according to authorities, 9-year-old Anthony was living in Atlanta, Georgia. He was based in a housing project called Harris Holmes when he quietly vanished, NCMEC said. Anthony was reportedly one of four boys living with his hard-working, single mother, who did everything she could to for her children.

Now decades later, according to NCMEC, a retired investigator on NCMEC’s Team Adam organized a collection of DNA from Anthony's family. A forensic artist on the team at NCMEC also worked on and produced an age-progression which shows what Anthony could possibly look like now at the age of 61-years-old.

Carol Schweitzer who oversees NCMEC's Forensic Services said in their story, “Anthony has been missing for more than five decades, but the answers are still out there, so our search for him continues."

Schweitzer added, "We’re hoping people who knew him and his family, who lived in his neighborhood and attended his school, will come forward to share their stories about what was going on in Atlanta in 1971. The smallest bit of information or the most distant memory could help connect the dots.”

NCMEC also spoke to Anthony's family members. Those loved ones said before Anthony’s mother's death, in the years after her son vanished, she kept the porch light on and his bicycle chained to a fence out front. She always had hope her baby would return.

Fox 5 Atlanta reports Anthony would often take his bike to help elderly neighbors by going on grocery runs for them. The housing complex where Anthony and his family lived was off Sells Avenue, 11 Alive reported.

NCMEC also reports the family did not consider Anthony a runaway, even though police at the time classified the case as such. A neighbor reportedly saw the child at the time get into a vehicle with an adult male.

Sgt. Niya Mitchell with the Atlanta Police Department said the DNA collected will be entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The hope is that there will be a match in the CODIS system or through genetic genealogy.

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