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
Curtis McCoy
Curtis, date, approximate 1989; Age-progression to age 22 (date, approximate 2009)
Date Missing 11/18/1989
Missing From
Newark, New Jersey
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Black
Date of Birth 10/06/1987 (35)
Age 2 years old
Height and Weight 1'8, 25 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A green jacket, blue jeans and a blue Yankees baseball cap.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Curtis has two marks on his back.
Details of Disappearance Curtis was visiting the family of his father, Curtis Williams, for the Thanksgiving holidays in Newark, New Jersey on November 18, 1989. His mother, Lashawn McCoy, had custody of him and they resided in South Carolina at the time.
Williams said he reached behind to take his son's hand as the group crossed an intersection, but Curtis had vanished. The child has never been seen again. An extensive search yielded no evidence as to his whereabouts.
Williams was questioned numerous times over the years by the New Jersey investigators regarding the child's fate. Lashawn claims that her son did not want to travel to New Jersey for the visitation and that she had to reassure him the trip would be fine. She moved her family to New Jersey after her son disappeared in 1989.
Williams was jailed, along with Moore, on fraud charges in September 2005. They allegedly stole security deposits from prospective tenants of an apartment and also falsely reported Curtis as a dependent on a loan application.
Authorities initially believed Williams had hidden Curtis in the local area and the child was living under an assumed name, but their search turned up no evidence that he was alive. In January 2006, Williams was additionally charged with his son's murder.
Authorities stated they had opened a grand jury investigation into Curtis's disappearance and Moore testified that Williams killed his son and then reported him as a missing person to cover up the crime. Moore did not, however, know where Curtis's body was; nor did she have any other evidence to support her statement.
In May 2007, Williams pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension in connection with his son's disappearance. He was sentenced to time served and five years' probation, and was released from custody immediately. The murder and fraud charges were dropped.
Williams admitted to killing son and stated he buried the child's corpse in a shallow grave under the New Jersey Turnpike in Jersey City, New Jersey. Prosecutors stated they did not have enough evidence to prove the murder charge; hence, the plea agreement. Lashawn criticized the arrangement as being too lenient.
Numerous unsuccessful searches have been conducted for Curtis's remains. Authorities believe Williams was telling the truth about the body's location, but they have not located anything at the specified place. His remains classified as a non-family abduction with some agencies.
Investigating Agency
Newark Police Department
201-733-6123
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
The Star-Ledger
The Jersey Journal
WNBC
WABC-TV
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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
