Josiah Adams, 10, was reported missing in Baltimore. Police said he was last seen wearing all dark clothing and carrying a black bookbag. At the time of the appeal, police had not said whether he had been found.
According to Baltimore Police
, Josiah was reported missing Thursday at approximately 10:30 p.m. from the 3900 block of Maine Avenue. The department said its Missing Persons Detectives were asking the public for help locating him.
What Police Know So Far
The department's appeal gave Josiah's age and last-known clothing—a dark outfit—and said he was carrying a black bookbag. It did not provide additional physical details or say where he was headed.
Anyone with information about Josiah's whereabouts is asked to contact Missing Persons Detectives at 410-361-9929 or call 911. The appeal did not say whether investigators had received leads.
How Missing-Child Procedures and Alerts Work
Baltimore Police Department Policy 714 says officers should notify a supervisor and institute appropriate search procedures when a child is reported missing; the policy does not establish which steps were taken in Josiah’s case. Maryland State Police lists criteria for an AMBER Alert: police must confirm an abduction, believe the child is in danger of serious harm or death, have enough information to help locate the child, believe the child remains in the area and enter the child’s information into NCIC. The absence of an alert alone does not establish why one was not issued or the risk in Josiah’s case.
The FBI’s 2025 NCIC report counted 88,093 active missing-person records nationwide as of December 31, 2025, including 21,487 records for juveniles under 18. Those national figures do not describe Baltimore’s local caseload or establish anything about Josiah’s case.
A Broader Strain on Missing-Persons Cases
Baltimore's missing-persons caseload has drawn scrutiny before. A 2024 post from journalist Julie Bykowicz on X noted that roughly 3,000 people go missing in Baltimore each year, while the police department's missing persons unit had just two detectives at that time, a staffing snapshot that does not reflect the unit's current workload or capacity.
That context does not resolve anything about Josiah's specific case, but it frames the kind of caseload Missing Persons Detectives have historically managed in the city. For now, the department's focus remains squarely on finding the boy, and it is counting on the public to help close the gap.
