Missing 19-Year-Old Was ‘Just Minutes from His House’ When He Disappeared Near His College on Halloween

Police in South Carolina are searching for Owen Tillman Kenney, a 19-year-old student from New Jersey who vanished in Charleston during the early morning hours of Halloween.

According to a news release from the Charleston Police Department, Kenney was last seen around 2 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, near King Street and Burns Lane. The College of Charleston reported him missing the following day, Saturday, Nov. 1.

Kenney’s family shared on Facebook that “he was minutes from his house but never made it home.”

Kenney’s roommates told NBC affiliate WCBD that they attempted to locate him through his phone, but the device appeared to be dead at the time.

“It’s honestly really eerie on campus right now. I would say we’re definitely feeling the distance here,” student Holland Cartmill said, adding that although he doesn’t personally know Kenney, he’s heard “amazing things about the kind of friend he is.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s definitely scary. And I just really pray that this doesn’t happen again,” Cartmill added.

Kenney is described as 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 155 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes, according to the college. He was last seen wearing a Boston Celtics jersey bearing the number 11—part of his Halloween costume—and may also have been wearing a black zip-up hoodie, his family said. He has several tattoos: on his right forearm, left shoulder, left shin, and knee.

Originally from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, Kenney graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School in 2024. The school posted a message on Facebook asking people to “please share and pray for his safe return.”

Kenney transferred to the College of Charleston in January 2025 and was in his second semester as a freshman, according to The Monmouth Journal and The Post and Courier, which cited a school spokesperson. The college has made counseling services available to students following his disappearance.

Anyone with information about Kenney’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Charleston Police Department at 843-720-2422 and ask for the on-duty Central Detective, or submit a tip online at www.charleston-sc.gov/tips.