Baltimore aunt confesses to harboring child who was missing for 6 months

A Baltimore woman confessed to harboring her 9-year-old nephew, who was missing for six months, City Police officials said Thursday. 

Denise Day, 60, was arrested Wednesday in the 500 block of Chart Avenue. During an interview with BPD's Missing Persons Unit, Day confessed to helping her nephew, Tristan King, elude officials for nearly five months, officials said. 

She is facing charges of abducting a child under 12 and abduction of a child by a relative, according to police. 

Child found 

King, 9, was found at a home in the Curtis Bay area in mid-March following an anonymous tip to police. 

He had been missing since Sept. 24, 2025, and was found nearly two miles from where he initially went missing, according to our partners at the Baltimore Banner. He was found asleep in a bed with Day on March 13 following a multi-agency search. 

The child was taken to a hospital for medical and psychological evaluations after he was found. According to the Banner, King has since been placed in a treatment foster home, often used for children who have behavioral or medical conditions and require additional supervision. 

"We owe Tristan action, not excuses, and we will keep working to make sure no child falls through the cracks like this again," Gov. Moore said in a statement after King was found. 

King goes missing 

According to the Banner, Day was assigned as King's legal guardian after his grandmother had a stroke and went to live in a nursing home. He was placed in the care of the State Department of Human Services after Day gave him up. 

The Maryland Department of Human Services lost King when he ran from a caseworker, according to the Banner.