A community in Montgomery County, Maryland, is rallying together in search of a 17-year-old student who has been missing for several days, and the concern grows with each passing hour.
Armaan Bhatia, a junior at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, was last seen on Monday, May 18, 2026, at around noon near the 2100 block of Wootton Parkway.
He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing dark colored clothing. Since that afternoon, his family has heard nothing.
The Montgomery County Department of Police, specifically detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division, have officially opened a missing persons case and are urging anyone with information to call the Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency line at 301-279-8000, which operates 24 hours a day.
What makes this case particularly heartbreaking for those close to Armaan is the context his family has shared publicly.
In a deeply personal appeal posted to social media, a family member described Armaan as being in a vulnerable state in the days leading up to his disappearance.
According to the statement, he had gone multiple days without sleep before he went missing and was showing visible signs of physical and emotional exhaustion. Family members noted behavioral changes and emotional withdrawal that had raised alarms well before May 18.
“We are extremely worried about his physical and emotional state,” the family wrote in their public appeal, adding that Armaan is considered at risk due to ongoing mental health concerns and severe sleep deprivation. The family urged anyone who may have seen him or knows anything about his whereabouts to come forward immediately, either by contacting the police or reaching out directly to his family.
Wootton High School, where Armaan is enrolled, is one of the most prominent public schools in Montgomery County, serving close to 2,000 students from across the Rockville area.
The school community has responded with an outpouring of support since news of his disappearance began spreading online. Classmates and parents have shared appeals across Facebook and other social media platforms, and some community members have reportedly organized informal neighborhood searches to help locate him.
The missing persons database entry for Armaan Bhatia has been listed on MissingPeopleInAmerica.org, one of the largest interactive missing persons databases in the country, which only posts verified, official cases submitted through law enforcement channels.
When a teenager goes missing under these circumstances, time is a critical factor. Mental health crises, combined with physical exhaustion, can rapidly escalate a dangerous situation, and the family is clearly aware of that reality.
Their willingness to share details about Armaan’s mental state publicly reflects both their desperation and their hope that someone in the community holds a piece of information that could bring him home safely.
If you live in or around Rockville, Maryland, or the broader Montgomery County area, please stay alert. If you have seen a young man matching Armaan Bhatia’s description, or if you have any information at all about his whereabouts, contact the Montgomery County Police immediately at 301-279-8000.
Armaan’s family is waiting. His community is searching. Please help bring him home.
