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
Chance Lee Wackerhagen
Chance, date, approximate 1993; Age-progression to age 28 (date, approximate 2012); Latricia White
Date Missing 12/26/1993
Missing From
Lockhart, Texas
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 09/02/1984 (38)
Age 9 years old
Height and Weight 4'8, 75 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Green 1986 Ford pickup truck (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue/green eyes. Chance has a small dimple on his right cheek. He may use the last name Walker.
Details of Disappearance Chance and his father, Lee Wackerhagen, disappeared from Lockhart, Texas on December 26, 1993. Lee and Chance's mother, Gaye Williams, had divorced three years earlier and Williams had custody.
Chance left his mother's Kingsville, Texas home on December 17 to spend the Christmas holidays with his father.The child last spoke to Williams on Christmas Day, asking for permission to stay a few days longer with Lee. She says he sounded happy and was excited about his Christmas presents. Williams gave him permission to stay longer and told him to call her later to set up a time to return home. She never heard from Chance again.
The day after Christmas, Lee and Chance were seen eating dinner at a restaurant in town. They appeared to be happy and having a good time. Neither of them have ever been seen or heard from again.
Latricia Gail White, Lee's live-in girlfriend, was found murdered in their apartment on December 27; authorities believe she had been killed in her sleep the day earlier, sometime after the Wackerhagens were seen eating at the restaurant. She had been shot six times in the head with a .22 caliber revolver.
There were no indications of a struggle at the crime scene and nothing appeared to be missing, but Lee and Chance were nowhere to be found. Investigators did find Chance's footprint in the blood at the crime scene, indicating he was there either when the murder happened or shortly afterwards.
A photo of White is posted with this summary. She was 38 years old, recently divorced, had two children and worked as a nurse at Central Texas Medical Center at the time of her death.
Lee's green 1986 Ford pickup truck was found abandoned in a field in east Austin, Texas at 1:00 a.m., three days after White's murder. Inside the truck authorities found Lee's hunting rifle, which hadn't been fired. They also found his checkbook, his wallet, a toolbox, a spare tire and some bloodstained Christmas gifts, some of them unopened. The blood was originally thought to be White's, but testing proved it wasn't her blood type. There was not enough blood present to indicate a life-threatening injury.
Four months after Lee and Chance disappeared, Chance's maternal grandfather got an anonymous phone call at his home. The caller said "help me" and then the line went dead. Chance's grandfather believes the call was from his grandson, but this hasn't been confirmed and the call was never traced.
Authorities initially believed Lee had murdered White and fled with Chance; Lee reportedly had a violent temper and was jealous and suspicious of White and the couple had frequent, fierce arguments. Williams said she was also a victim of abuse from Lee and said she was frightened of him.
The FBI issued warrants for his arrest on charges of murder, interference with custody and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The warrants remained active for the next 25 years, but there was no sign of either Lee or his son. Lee had no prior criminal record, and Williams stated that although he had been abusive towards her, she didn't believe he would have harmed Chance. Lee's friends also did not believe he would have killed White or harmed his son.
In the spring of 2016, authorities reopened the and announced they had evidence that both Lee and Chance were victims of foul play. There has been no indication of their whereabouts since 1993.
Investigators believe White's murder was probably a crime of passion committed by someone who had a close relationship with one or more of the victims. Lee is now considered a missing person and possible homicide victim rather than a fugitive. He worked as a truck driver at the time of his disappearance, and had previously been a backhoe operator.
White's murder remains unsolved and the search for Lee and Chance continues.
Investigating Agency
Kingsville Police Department
361-593-1700
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Vanished Children's Alliance
Texas Department of Public Safety
Unsolved Mysteries
The Doe Network
The Austin American-Statesman
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times
The San Marcos Record
For the Lost
NamUs
The Unsolved of Latricia White | DARK MATTERS #9
Lost & Found
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
