Caden Qiao Last Seen Near Northside Drive as Georgia Tech Police Seek Public Help

 The search for Georgia Tech first-year student Caden Qiao remains active in Atlanta after he was last seen Sunday, September 13, 2026. Georgia Tech officials have asked the public to help investigators determine where Qiao went after leaving a residence hall. Surveillance footage reportedly shows him leaving the Eighth Street residence hall without personal belongings before he was later seen heading east on 17th Street from Northside Drive. His family reported him missing the following evening.

According to Georgia Tech, Qiao was last seen at about 6:04 p.m. near the intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive. He was wearing a mint green T-shirt, long gray pants, and black shoes with white soles. Those details are central to the public request for assistance, for anyone who may have been traveling through Midtown Atlanta during the relevant period during the evening. Investigators are asking people to consider whether they saw Qiao or captured him on a camera.

The Georgia Tech Police Department is leading the search and is working with local authorities. Search efforts have extended across the university campus, Piedmont Park, and Buckhead, while officers have also checked local hospitals and detention facilities. Investigators have secured Qiao’s phone and laptop and obtained a court order as they work to access those devices. The steps indicate an effort to reconstruct his movements and develop a clearer timeline after he was last seen and continue examining evidence.

Authorities are also asking the public to review surveillance footage, doorbell recordings, and dash-camera video from the evening of September 13. Georgia Tech has specifically highlighted the area around Northside Drive and Deering Road as a place where useful footage could exist that may help establish his movements. People who live nearby, work in the area, attend Georgia Tech, travel through the neighborhood, or operate businesses may have recordings or observations that investigators have not yet seen.

Missing-person searches can depend on small, important details because investigators must build a reliable account of a person’s movements from separate pieces of evidence. A timestamp from a camera, a brief sighting, or another documented observation can help establish where someone was at a particular moment. For that reason, Georgia Tech is asking the community not to dismiss a potentially relevant detail simply because it appears incomplete or uncertain. Even limited observations may become useful when compared with other evidence.

The available public details do not establish what happened to Qiao after he was last seen, and no cause or explanation for his disappearance has been publicly confirmed. The investigation therefore remains focused on locating him and determining his movements. Members of the public should provide potentially relevant observations directly to authorities rather than attempting to investigate independently or confronting anyone they believe could be connected to the case. That approach allows investigators to evaluate information appropriately as the search continues and possible locations.

Anyone who has information about Caden Qiao’s whereabouts, saw him on the evening of September 13, or has relevant surveillance footage is asked to contact the Georgia Tech Police Department at 404-894-2500. The public may also call 911 when an immediate emergency requires police assistance. Until authorities provide further details, Qiao’s whereabouts remain unknown. The continuing search reflects the importance of timely, reliable public assistance as investigators work to locate the Georgia Tech student and bring him home safely.