Man on moped seen talking to missing 5-year-old boy, sought by police

Detroit police are looking to speak with a man on a moped in connection with a missing 5-year-old boy on the city's west side Friday. 

Marcus Pruitt hasn't been seen since Thursday night, when his mom went to check on him around 10:30 p.m. and couldn't find him. The boy was last seen in the home in the 19100 block of St. Mary's, which is near 7 Mile and Greenfield.

Marcus is 4 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 87 lbs. and was last seen wearing a gray white striped shirt and blue jeans. Police haven't given any other details about the circumstances of the boy's disappearance at this time, and haven't distinguished yet if they believe someone took Marcus or if he wandered off.

Friday morning police said they're looking to speak with a man who was on a red moped on St. Mary's Street Thursday night before the boy disappeared. The boy was seen talking to the man and was very interested in his moped.

The man is a black man in his mid 30s, has a goatee, weighs between 200-225 lbs. and was wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket, Timbaland boots and safety glasses. The man stopped on his bike on the street and Marcus was seen talking to him. Police believe the moped may have broken down and that the man was waiting for someone to come help. 

Police couldn't say for sure what time the boy was seen talking to the man, but said it happened before 10:30 p.m. when he was discovered missing. 

Police also have doorbell surveillance video of Marcus at a neighbor's house Thursday around 7:30 p.m. The boy's mom told police she saw the boy in his bedroom playing video games at 9:40 p.m. but then less than an hour later is when she couldn't find him. 

Meanwhile, police have heavily increased their presence in the neighborhood to search for the boy. They brought in a bus load of cadets to help look in yards, and others are going door-to-door talking to neighbors. 

"I would advise everyone to just check your cars, check their garbage cans or anything that he might have crawled into; check their garages just to make sure in this immediate area that he isn't there," says Detroit police Capt. Darrell Patterson. 

His family has pleaded with the public to do the right thing if they come across the boy. 

"I don't care nothing, I just want to find him. If anybody help us, his mama, his grandma, his family - we all want to find him," Paris Jackson told us, who's the boyfriend of the boy's mother. "If you find him please, please, take him to the precinct."