dictionary

From Rose Arce
CNN New York Bureau

NEW YORK -- A Manhattan judge ruled Tuesday that the little boy whose disappearance more than 20 years ago sparked the modern missing children's movement is dead.

Attorneys say the declaration clears the way for a wrongful death lawsuit against the man they consider his killer and may help prevent his release from jail.

Surrogate's Judge Eve Preminger ruled that 6-year-old Etan Patz died on May 25, 1979, the day he vanished on the way to the school bus from his family's home in New York's SoHo district.

	LEGAL RESOURCES
Latest Legal News
Law Library
FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

His disappearance launched authorities on a worldwide manhunt and led to then-President Ronald Reagan's declaration of May 25 as National Missing Children's Day.

"The search for Etan Patz has possibly, with exception of the Lindbergh (baby) kidnapping, been the most extensive manhunt ever," said Roger Olson, court-appointed guardian for Etan Patz.

While Patz's killer was never found, former prosecutor Stuart GraBois, who now advises the Patzes, told Judge Preminger that he believes the boy was murdered by convicted child molester Jose Antonio Ramos, who is currently serving time in a Pennsylvania jail.

Ramos was friendly with Patz's baby sitter and, according to GraBois, told other inmates that Patz's body would never be found. He is serving 10 to 20 years for the molestation of another child and is now eligible for parole. But police have not found enough evidence to charge him in the Etan Patz case.

A lawyer for the Patz family said the declaration of death would clear the way for a wrongful-death lawsuit against Ramos. In the suit, they would hope to establish that Ramos killed Etan since the burden of proof in civil cases is less than it is for criminal ones. Additionally, the suit would be a factor in arguing against parole for Ramos

The Patz family and lawyers for Ramos were both unavailable for comment.

The search for the young boy was the topic of books and movies, resulting in various organizations emerging to champion the cause of missing children, putting their pictures on milk cartons and flyers.

"The disappearance of Etan Patz was the end of innocence for many parents," said Brian O'Dwyer, attorney for the Patz family. "They no longer believed it was safe to have your children walk around alone because suddenly there could be somebody out there."