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
Catherine Marie Tornquist
Catherine, date, approximate 2011; Matthew Tornquist, date, approximate 2012
Date Missing 10/05/2011
Missing From
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 56 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 130 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Gray hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Catherine was last seen in Hot Springs, South Dakota between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. on October 5, 2011. She was carrying $10,000 in cash at the time of her disappearance and intended to purchase a motor home. She had already placed a $1,000 down payment. She never showed up to buy the motor home and has never been heard from again.
It's uncharacteristic of Catherine to leave without warning, and her daughter stated she would never have left because she was taking care of her elderly father. The contents of her purse were found dumped on a gravel road northeast of Buffalo Gap.
In July 2012, Catherine's son, Matthew Charles Tornquist, was charged with murder and grand theft in connection with his mother's disappearance. He'd been in federal custody for weapons offenses since earlier that year; authorities had found stolen guns in his college dormitory room.
A photo of Matthew is posted with this summary. At his trial in the summer of 2014, the prosecution alleged he shot Catherine to death in her bed with a stolen .22 caliber rifle, dragged her body outside her home, put it in his car, disposed of it, and spent the money she'd intended to buy the motor home with.
Although someone had cleaned up the bedroom, traces of Catherine's blood were found on her bed and there was a trail of blood leading outside. There were two spent bullets in Catherine's mattress and another in the trunk of Matthew's car; they all had hair consistent with Catherine's stuck to them. There was a bloodstained sheet of plywood on Catherine's property and a partially burned cellular phone in the burn barrel.
One of the stolen guns found in Matthew's dormitory room, a .22 caliber rifle, had skin cells on it that matched Catherine's DNA, and her blood was found on a pair of his jeans. In addition, Matthew gave multiple stories to people about his mother's disappearance, and the alibi he provided turned out to be fictitious.
The jury deliberated only two hours before convicting Matthew of murder, although he maintained his innocence. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Catherine's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation
605-394-2258
Other
South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation
The Rapid City Journal
KEVN Black Hills Fox
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
