Stanley K. Patz, the boy's father, to have his missing son officially declared dead. Patz's lawyer, Brian O'Dwyer, and Roger Olsen, the court-appointed guardian, agreed a hearing on the petition wasn't needed. Olsen said investigators had carried out the most exhaustive search for

Etan, who disappeared on May 25, 1979, since the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. He also noted that a convicted child molester, Jose Antonio Ramos, currently serving a 20-year sentence in Pennsylvania, had allegedly once claimed responsibility for Etan's death.

O'Dwyer said it was "a horrible and painful day" for the boy's parents, neither of whom attended the proceeding.

O'Dwyer said he plans to file a civil suit against Ramos for the wrongful death of the child within a few weeks, by which time he expects to have received Preminger's written decision on the declaration.

A Newsday review of court records sheds new light on ICE’s Long Island operation and where it’s happening. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa, Shari Einhorn, investigative reporter Josefa Velásquez and attorney Reuben Kerben break it down. Credit: Newsday Staff. Photo credit: Jim Watson/ Getty Images

'The strategy that I'm seeing ... is very chaotic' A Newsday review of court records sheds new light on ICE's Long Island operation and where it's happening. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa, Shari Einhorn, investigative reporter Josefa Velásquez and attorney Reuben Kerben break it down.

A Newsday review of court records sheds new light on ICE’s Long Island operation and where it’s happening. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa, Shari Einhorn, investigative reporter Josefa Velásquez and attorney Reuben Kerben break it down. Credit: Newsday Staff. Photo credit: Jim Watson/ Getty Images

'The strategy that I'm seeing ... is very chaotic' A Newsday review of court records sheds new light on ICE's Long Island operation and where it's happening. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa, Shari Einhorn, investigative reporter Josefa Velásquez and attorney Reuben Kerben break it down.

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