A Georgia Tech freshman has not been seen since Sunday evening, and police are now asking anyone in Atlanta with a doorbell camera, dash cam, or home security system to check their footage from that night. Caden Qiao was last seen leaving an address on Eighth Street without any of his personal belongings, then spotted again roughly an hour later walking near Northside Drive, before he disappeared entirely.
According to WSB-TV, Qiao left 555 Eighth Street at 5:06 p.m. on September 13 without his belongings. He was seen again around 6:04 p.m. at 17th Street and Northside Drive, walking east on 17th Street, and has not been located since. Qiao's family reported him missing to Georgia Tech police around 10 p.m. the following night, September 14.
Qiao was wearing a mint green T-shirt, long gray pants, and black shoes with white soles when he was last seen, per the same report. Both Georgia Tech police and the Atlanta Police Department are now searching for him.
Search Spans Campus, Piedmont Park and Buckhead
Investigators have expanded their search well beyond the Georgia Tech campus. The station's report notes that police have combed Piedmont Park, Buckhead, city streets, and underpasses across Atlanta, while also checking area hospitals and local detention facilities in case Qiao turned up there.
Police have reviewed surveillance footage, issued a bolo to law enforcement agencies, and worked with Georgia Tech housing staff and students as part of the investigation, the outlet reports. Officers also searched Qiao's residence and secured his phone and laptop, though the article notes that technical security restrictions have so far prevented investigators from accessing information stored on those devices. A court order has since been obtained to pursue that information.
Public Asked to Check Footage From Sunday Night
Georgia Tech is now asking anyone with surveillance, doorbell, or dash-camera footage from the evening of September 13 — particularly around Northside Drive and Deering Road — to come forward. Police say they are looking for any information about where Qiao went after he was last seen walking near Northside Drive.
Robert Connolly said the focus is finding Caden and bringing him home safely, according to WSB-TV, and he asked the Georgia Tech and broader Atlanta communities to share any information that could help investigators. Anyone with information is asked to contact Georgia Tech police at 404-894-2500 or 911.
A Recent High School Graduate Headed to Tech
A LinkedIn profile matching Qiao's name places him in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and a post from an account identified as Evelyn Qiao states that her brother, Caden Qiao, had just graduated from high school. A separate LinkedIn post from that account says he had been accepted to Georgia Tech and the John H. Martinson Honors Program.
On his own LinkedIn profile, Qiao wrote that “a part of me also wants to just go back home (Atlanta) and have fun with my family and friends before I go off to college,” and mentioned that he had recently finished competing at the Genes in Space finals. What happened to him after he was last seen near Northside Drive on Sunday remains unknown, and investigators have not said whether any leads from the requested footage have emerged.
