His father searched arcades, alleyways, and dumpsters through the night. Forty-two years later, he died still not knowing who killed his son.
Gary Grant Jr., 7, was found beaten to death in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on January 14, 1984, two days after he went missing. His father, a police officer, spent the rest of his life trying to solve the case before dying in January 2026, the murder still unsolved.
A Day Off From School
Gary had an unexpected day off due to a teacher conference and told his mother, May, that he had a secret 2:30 p.m. "appointment." He left home around noon, telling her he'd be back by 4. Friends said he'd stopped by their house and left around 4:30 p.m. He never came home.
A Father's Search
May contacted Gary's father, Gary Grant Sr., an Atlantic City police detective from whom she was separated. Department rules kept him off the official investigation, so he searched independently through the night, checking arcades, alleyways, and dumpsters. Two days later, a property owner found Gary's body, wrapped in a rug, in a vacant lot roughly two blocks from home. A metal pipe believed to be the murder weapon was found nearby.
A Confession, Then Dismissed
Within a day of the discovery, investigators questioned Carl "Boo" Mason, a 12-year-old neighborhood boy with a developmental disability who was known to have spent time with Gary. Mason reportedly confessed to the killing during questioning, then recanted. A judge later threw out the confession, finding Mason unreliable and noting he had been questioned without a guardian present, despite requests that his grandmother be included. With the confession excluded, charges against Mason were dropped, and he was never convicted of anything in connection with the case.
Taunting Messages
Two years after the murder, someone wrote "Gary Grant's dead. I am living" on a patrol car, along with a threat about another death occurring on the anniversary. Weeks later, a second message appeared elsewhere reading "Gary Grant Jr. lives. I still killed him." In 2016, Gary Sr. rediscovered two 1986 911 call recordings connected to the case: one from a man asking if he could claim a reward for confessing to the killing, and another from someone claiming the actual killer had confessed to them, saying he'd targeted Gary because of an arrest his father had made. Investigators have never been able to verify who made either call or whether they had any genuine connection to the crime.
A Case That Stayed Open
Gary Sr. never stopped pursuing the case after retiring, maintaining a public Facebook page dedicated to his son and periodically working with Atlantic County prosecutors, who have said the case has remained officially open and active. He said publicly for decades that he believed Mason had been present when Gary was killed, without necessarily being the one responsible, though he acknowledged this was his personal belief rather than something ever proven.
A Father's Death, Still Without Answers
Gary Grant Sr. died in January 2026, just days before the anniversary of his son's death, at age 76, having spent more than four decades searching for answers he never received.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was anyone ever convicted of Gary Grant Jr.'s murder?
No. A 12-year-old boy's confession was thrown out by a judge as unreliable, and no one has ever been charged or convicted.
Is the case still being investigated?
Yes. Atlantic County prosecutors have said the case remains formally open, and periodic reviews have continued over the decades.
Did Gary Grant Sr. ever learn who killed his son?
No. He died in January 2026 without ever learning the answer, after searching for more than 40 years.