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
Carolann Payne
Payne, date, approximate 1985
Date Missing 08/01/1985
Missing From
Deschutes County, Oregon
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 01/05/1950 (72)
Age 35 years old
Height and Weight 5'0 - 5'1, 150 pounds
Medical Conditions Payne has been diagnosed with depression and spent two months in a psychiatric hospital in early 1985 after a suicide attempt. She is allergic to several types of medicaton, including Empirin, codeine and the penicillin-based antibiotics erythromycin, tetracycline, and mycins.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Payne's nickname is Nikki. She may use the first name Carol or the last name Wagner. Her maiden name is Lung and her previous married name is Rittgens. Payne has crooked front teeth. She has surgical scars near her anus from a prolapsed colon as well as surgical scars on her abdomen from two Cesarean sections, a tubal ligation and a duodenal hematoma.
Details of Disappearance Payne was last seen in Deschutes County, Oregon sometime in August 1985.
She was a drifter without a fixed address, a bank account or any credit cards, so the exact date of her disappearance is unclear. However, she usually called her family at least once every month or two. She hasn't used her Social Security number, made any financial transactions or had any encounters with the police since 1985.
Payne was born in Duluth, Minnesota and has lived in Iowa, Illinois and California as well as Oregon. She has prior work experience as a waitress, sales associate, bartender and dog groomer. She has two children and is twice divorced.
Joel Terrence Abbott was convicted of Payne's murder in 1993 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He was initially convicted of aggravated murder, but the judge reduced the charge to intentional murder because he decided there was insufficient evidence that Abbott had kidnapped Payne, and kidnapping was necessary to sustain the aggravated murder charge.
Abbott was Payne's former boyfriend. People who knew him testified he had a violent temper around women, and he had previously assaulted Payne with a knife.
A friend of Abbott's who was a police informant secretly recorded him saying he'd shot Payne in the back and the head with a high-powered rifle. He told the same story to his ex-wife.
Prosecutors believe he "went to great lengths" to conceal Payne's body, which has never been found. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Deschutes County Sheriff's Department
Other
The Bend Bulletin
The Corvallis Gazette-Times
Official Cold Investigations
NamUs
The Statesman Journal
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
