A 22-year-old New Orleans man has not been seen or heard from since he briefly returned home and then slipped out through a neighbor's backyard, prompting police to issue a critical missing person alert. Kemon Terrell left his residence in the 1500 block of Tennessee Street on August 17, came back roughly 15 minutes later, and then disappeared through the neighboring yard, according to police. His family reported recent changes in his behavior that raised concerns for his safety and well-being.
The New Orleans Police Department is asking for the public's help locating Terrell, who was born June 6, 2004. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, red shorts, and black slippers, and he has an earring in each ear along with a gold cross necklace. Anyone with information is urged to contact Fifth District detectives at 504-658-6050 or NOPD at 504-821-2222. Local station WDSU picked up the bulletin Tuesday, broadcasting Terrell's description to a wider audience.
Why This Case Falls Outside a Statewide Silver Alert
Because Terrell is 22, his case does not automatically qualify for a Louisiana Silver Alert. State regulations reserve those statewide broadcasts for missing seniors 60 and older or for individuals with documented cognitive impairments, meaning adults between 18 and 59 without qualifying medical documentation rely on local police advisories instead. That distinction is why NOPD's designation of Terrell as a Critical Missing Person matters: it triggers the department's internal Level II protocol.
Under Chapter 41.23 of the NOPD Operations Manual, missing persons between 17 and 65 with known physical or mental health vulnerabilities are classified under Level II alerts, which require Fifth District detectives to coordinate directly with the Louisiana State Police. It remains unclear whether Terrell has any documented health condition tied to the critical designation, and whether the city's newer digital alert tools have been activated in his specific case.
New City Alert Tools Could Widen the Search
Since May, New Orleans has had a local option beyond traditional state alerts: Bryan's Call, a public notification system that pushes information on missing vulnerable people through NOLA Ready alerts, digital billboards, and the Ring doorbell network, for cases that don't meet AMBER or Silver Alert criteria. The New Orleans Police Juvenile Foundation also partners with Lamar Advertising through the NOLA Alert program to display critical missing bulletins on digital billboards across the city, broadening visibility beyond social media posts.
Terrell's disappearance is centered in the Lower Ninth Ward, a historic residential area near the Claiborne Avenue Bridge that suffered severe flooding during Hurricane Katrina and has since become a focus of community rebuilding, including neighborhood urban farming projects like Sankofa Gardens. The Fifth District, which covers Tennessee Street from its station at 3900 North Claiborne Avenue, serves roughly 28,631 residents across 8.7 square miles spanning the Lower Ninth Ward and Bywater, making it the fourth largest police district in the city.
Most Missing Person Cases Do Not End in Tragedy
Citywide numbers offer some context, though they don't predict any individual outcome. Between 2020 and May 2025, NOPD recorded 1,523 adult and 1,774 juvenile missing person reports, and only 20 of those cases resulted in the discovery of a body, according to police data Hoodline previously reported. The vast majority of missing person cases in the city do not end in fatal outcomes.
Terrell's case follows a string of recent local disappearances that have tested the region's alert systems, including the ongoing search for a missing New Orleans photographer and a Silver Alert mobilization for a 63-year-old Kenner man that ended when he was found safe. For now, Terrell remains unaccounted for, and police say anyone with information on his whereabouts should come forward.
