Austin Kaleb Walls, 18, of the Knoxville, Tennessee area, was reported missing after traveling to New York City on what was meant to be a vacation. The last confirmed contact with Walls was a phone conversation with his mother on October 16, 2025, at about 10:36 PM. He’s described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches, about 140 pounds, with red/auburn hair and hazel eyes; he was last seen wearing a white shirt and black pants.

His mother filed a missing person report with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office on October 24, 2025, after repeated attempts to reach him failed. The investigation is being handled by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office under case number 2510241554. Concern grew when the mother received a Facebook Messenger message from an unknown account that appeared to be from her son; replying produced a response in Spanish from a man who said he was a construction worker in New York City and had allowed Walls to use his phone. The man said Walls had been robbed, had no phone, and seemed confused and disoriented. Walls’ last known location was in the Bronx.

If anyone in New York City or Knoxville saw Austin around mid-October 2025 or has information about his whereabouts, please share what is known.