Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
Brenda Jo Howell
Brenda, date, approximate 1956; Mack Ray Edwards
Date Missing 08/06/1956
Missing From
Los Angeles County, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 08/19/1943 (79)
Age 12 years old
Height and Weight 4'9, 95 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Bicycle (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Brenda was last seen on August 6, 1956. She was accompanied by a friend, Donald Baker, at the time. The two of them rode their bicycles to the San Gabriel Canyon area near Glendora Mountain Road and disappeared. A few days later, Donald's jacket and Brenda's bicycle were found near Morris Dam, a quarter of a mile south of where they were last seen. Neither of them have been heard from again.
Authorities initially believed the children had run away from home, but later events altered their opinion. In 1970, Mack Ray Edwards pleaded guilty to killing three California children and sentenced to death at his own request. He subsequently confessed to the murders of three others, including Donald, Brenda and Roger Madison.
Edwards directed investigators to a site where he said he had disposed of their bodies, but a search of the area turned up no signs of any remains. Edwards was never charged in connection with any other s due to lack of evidence. He died by suicide on death row in 1971. A photograph of Edwards is posted with this summary. Brenda was his sister-in-law and Donald was one of his neighbors.
Two other children disappeared from the San Gabriel Mountains in the 1950s and 1960s; the others are Bruce Kremen and Thomas Bowman. Authorities believe Edwards was most likely responsible for their disappearances, as well as the disappearances of Ramona Price and Karen Tompkins. His alleged victims ranged in age from seven to sixteen years old.
At the time of her disappearance, Brenda was visiting her married sister who lived in the 5700 block of Rockdale Avenue in Azusa, California. She normally resided in Fort Bragg, California. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Brenda's was reopened in 2007 as authorities renewed the search for the bodies of Edwards's victims. He was employed as a heavy equipment operator in the 1950s and 1960s, and helped construct many highways across the state of California. Investigators believe he may have buried the children's remains under the highways.
Investigating Agency
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
323-890-5500
Other
California Attorney General's Office
NewspaperArchive
The Los Angeles Times
The Whittier Daily News
The Doe Network
Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
