Austin Fitzgerald Jr. hasn't been seen or heard from since he was spotted walking near South Grand Boulevard and Juniata Street around 3 p.m. on September 4, and police say he's without medication he needs. He was last seen wearing a black Nike jacket, black pants, and black and red Nike shoes. Now St. Louis police and a local advocacy group are asking anyone in the area to search their memories, and their security cameras, for any trace of him.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shared Fitzgerald's case on Facebook this week under the header “Have you seen Austin Fitzgerald?”, urging anyone who spots him to call 911 immediately. The department's Missing Persons Unit can also be reached directly at 314-444-5301 for anyone with information. Police attached the hashtag #STL to the post as they push to widen its reach across the region.
Grassroots group Operation ANY MEANS Necessary, INC. has stepped in alongside the police search, distributing additional physical details to help the public identify Fitzgerald. According to a social media alert from the organization, Fitzgerald stands approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 182 pounds, and wears his hair in locs. The group is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that regularly organizes ground searches, produces flyers, and supports families through missing person cases in the region, according to NewsOne.
Volunteers Ask Businesses to Check Security Footage
The nonprofit has specifically asked residents and business owners around South Grand Boulevard and Juniata Street to review their security camera footage from around 3 p.m. on September 4, the last time Fitzgerald was seen, for any possible sighting. That request makes sense given the location: the intersection sits within the South Grand Business District in South St. Louis, bordering the Tower Grove South and Tower Grove East neighborhoods just two blocks south of Tower Grove Park, per research compiled by Digital Commons at Lindenwood University. It's a dense, highly walkable commercial corridor known for its concentration of multi-ethnic restaurants and retail storefronts — the kind of area where camera coverage is common, and where volunteers hope footage could still be recovered.
Missing Without Medication Raises Urgency
Fitzgerald's disappearance carries added weight because he is without medication he needs, a detail that elevates urgency under Missouri's missing person response standards. The state's Endangered Person Advisory system can be activated through the Missouri State Highway Patrol when a missing person is believed to be in danger due to health conditions, missing medication, or unexplained circumstances, as Hoodline has previously reported. It remains unclear whether such an advisory has been formally requested in Fitzgerald's case.
Missouri law does not allow police departments to impose any waiting period before taking a missing person report or beginning an active search. Under Section 43.401 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, agencies must act immediately and enter missing person complaints into both the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System and the National Crime Information Center database, according to BillTrack50's summary of the statute. Those entries feed into the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Missing Persons Clearinghouse, which processes NCIC records into public profiles and coordinates with local departments statewide.
One Case Among Hundreds Across Missouri
Fitzgerald's case is part of a larger pattern playing out across the state this year. More than 2,000 adult missing person reports have been filed in Missouri in 2026, with over 600 active adult cases still open statewide, according to data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. St. Louis alone has seen a string of similar cases in recent weeks, including Cedric Bush Jr.’s five-week disappearance, also without needed medication and also supported by Operation ANY MEANS Necessary's search efforts.
For now, the core questions in Fitzgerald's case remain open. Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether security footage from South Grand and Juniata has turned up any leads, and no verified sighting has been reported since September 4. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or reach the Missing Persons Unit at 314-444-5301.
