Jury finds man guilty of 1979 murder of Etan Patz

A jury has found Pedro Hernandez, 55, guilty of the kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz, who vanished from a New York City bus stop in 1979, NBC New York reports.

Patz's body was never found, although his disappearance sparked the establishment of a nationwide hotline for missing children as well as aggressive techniques for finding kidnapped children, such as putting their pictures on milk cartons, The New York Times reports.

Hernandez reportedly lured Patz into his basement by promising him a soda, and then choked the boy to death. Hernandez confessed to the crime in 2012 after agents dug up his basement in an unsuccessful hunt for Patz's body.

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The jury acquitted Hernandez of intentional second-degree murder, indicating they do not believe he had intended to kill Patz, but he could still face life in prison.