Hayden Ian Lee Manis was 5 years old when he was last seen in public on August 30, 2020, at a go-kart race at New Castle Motorsports Park in the Muncie, Indiana, area. Family members’ last in-home memory of Hayden dates to a Christmas Eve gathering in 2019; after that, visits from Hayden and his father, Dustin Manis, became infrequent and eventually stopped. Authorities believe Hayden went missing sometime in 2020, but the long delay before relatives reported him missing in fall 2024 complicated efforts to establish a timeline.

Investigators contacted Dustin Manis, who claimed the Department of Child Services had taken Hayden in 2022 and placed him with his mother; that claim was later disproved and Hayden’s mother said she did not have him and did not know his whereabouts. Dustin, considered a primary person of interest, died of a drug overdose in December 2024 days after an unrelated arrest. Reports indicate investigators questioned Dustin’s former girlfriend, Crystal Hall, who allegedly told detectives Hayden was deceased and that she had disposed of his body; Hall denied making that statement to police. Foul play is suspected and the investigation remains active.

If anyone knew Hayden’s whereabouts after 2019 or has information about his time with Dustin or others in 2020, please come forward.