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
Bryan Dos Santos-Gomes
Bryan, date, approximate 2006; Age-progression to age 14 (date, approximate 2020); Sketch of Bryan's abductor; SUV similar to the abduction vehicle; Maria Ramos Dos Santos in 2010; Maria in 2021; Jurandir Gomes Gosta in 2010; Jurandir in 2021
Date Missing 12/01/2006
Missing From
Fort Myers, Florida
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Male
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 11/03/2006 (15)
Age 3 weeks old
Height and Weight 2'0, 12 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic male. Black hair, brown eyes. Some agencies spell Bryan's last name "Dossantos-Gomes" or "Dos Santos-Gomez" and his first name "Brayn." He is of Brazilian descent.
Details of Disappearance Bryan was abducted from Fort Myers, Florida on December 1, 2006. He and his mother, Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, were waiting with Maria's friend, Janice Duarte, at a bus stop when a woman drove up and asked for directions. She said she had been driving around for eight hours trying to find her mother's house.
Maria, Bryan and Duarte got on the bus, but the woman followed the bus until they got off and asked again for help. Maria, Bryan and Duarte got into her car. The woman later let Duarte go. Shortly afterwards she demanded $500 and made threats to Maria. She said she was going to Tampa, Florida but not to tell the police this or she would harm the women's families. She added that if the police stopped the car, the women had to claim they already knew each other.
The abductor eventually dropped Maria and her friend off at the roadside near the Villagio housing development off Three Oaks Parkway in Estero, Florida. She told them they had to wait ten minutes before calling anyone, then she drove away with Bryan. Neither Bryan nor his abductor have been heard from again.
Maria stated there was a diaper bag and car seat in the SUV, indicating the abduction had been planned. The abductor should be considered to be armed and dangerous.
Photographs of Bryan's mother and his father, Jurandir Gomes Costa, are posted with this summary. They are from a village in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and paid human traffickers helped them move the United States. Authorities theorized that Bryan was abducted in retaliation after Maria and Jurandir fell behind in the payments they owed to the smugglers.
Valter Coelho, an enforcer for a smuggling ring and an acquaintance of Maria's, was detained in connection with Bryan's abduction, but police could find no evidence to link him to the baby and he was deported to his native Brazil without being charged with anything.
Bryan's parents admitted to their il status and to owing hundreds of dollars to the smugglers, but denied that this could be the reason their child was taken.
Investigators now believe Bryan's kidnapping was a random crime. After his abduction, a Fort Myers woman went to the police and said she had been walking on the sidewalk with her infant grandchild when she was approached by a woman in a black SUV who asked for directions. This was in the same general vicinity as where Bryan was taken, and occurred only hours after his abduction.
The grandmother and Bryan's mother both picked the same person out of a photo lineup. The woman they identified was later cleared of suspicion, but investigators stated the two incidents were too similar to ignore and they believe Bryan's abductor had also accosted the other baby's grandmother. The abductor may be a woman who wanted a baby of her own; possibly she had experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth before she took Bryan.
Bryan's parents had two additional children following his abduction. Jurandir was arrested for driving without a license in November 2009 and was given over to the custody of immigration authorities the following month, pending deportation proceedings. He was released from detention under a supervision order in June 2010, however, and it remains to be seen whether he will be deported or not.
Maria stated she was going to try to get U Visas for herself and her husband. A U Visa is for victims of violent crimes and allows undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States ly for up to four years.
Bryan's disappearance remains unsolved and his kidnapper has never been identified. Authorities believe she may have been from South America or Mexico originally, or possibly a second-generation immigrant, and that English may be her first language, although she spoke Spanish during the abduction. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Fort Myers Police Department
877-667-1296
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
America's Most Wanted
The Bonita News
The Naples Daily News
The News-Press
Federal Bureau of Investigation
WINK News
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
