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.



Missing Person Photos

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

David Alexander Gimelfarb
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Gimelfarb, date, approximate 2009
Date Missing 08/10/2009
Missing From
Liberia, Costa Rica
Missing Classification Lost/Injured Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/02/1980 (41)
Age 28 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 135 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown/red hair, brown eyes. Gimelfarb had a goatee at the time of his disappearance. He has a surgical scar on the right side of his torso. He speaks fluent Spanish and Russian as well as English.
Details of Disappearance Gimelfarb flew out of O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois on August 9, 2009, for a vacation to Costa Rica. On August 10, he emailed his parents and spoke to them on the phone and said he planned to visit a national park that day. He told them he would call them every day. He was staying at the Hotel Chachipelin in Liberia, a city in the Costa Rican province of Guanacaste.
On August 11, Gimelfarb's parents contacted the hotel because they hadn't heard from him. The following day, the hotel notified them that his rented white Hyundai Tucson was found locked in the parking lot of the Rincon De La Vieja National Park, three miles from the hotel. The date and time stamp for admittance to the park was for August 10. The national park is 35,000 acres in size and mostly volcanic jungle terrain.
Gimelfarb has never been heard from again. He has no known mental problems and no history of drug or alcohol abuse. An extensive search of the park, involving local officials and volunteers, the Red Cross, and two United States Army Black Hawk helicopters, turned up no indication of his whereabouts.
His parents traveled to Costa Rica on August 13 to assist with the investigation. They stated he's an experienced hiker and traveler; he had previously gone skiing in Colorado and had traveled alone to Israel.
At the time of his disappearance, Gimelfarb was a third-year Ph.D student at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, and resided in the Buena Park neighborhood of that city. Highland Park, Illinois police are investigating his ; his parents live there. Missing Person Photos is profiling his due to his American citizenship.
Investigating Agency
Highland Park Police Department
847-432-7730
Other
The Chicago Tribune
The Tico Times
Chicago Breaking News
Facebook Page for David Gimelfarb
The Lonely Planet
Interpol

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.



Missing Person Photos

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