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
David L. Decker
David, date, approximate 2006; 1997 Mercury Tracer; Randy Kedigh
Date Missing 12/13/2006
Missing From
Brown Township, Ohio
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/28/1975 (47)
Age 31 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 160 - 170 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Red 1997 Mercury Tracer with Ohio license plates numbered DD18QL (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. David's nickname is Dave. He has a tattoo of an older model Mercury car on his right arm. He had a beard and mustache at the time of his disappearance.
Details of Disappearance David was last seen at his father's property in the 7100 block of Lark Road in Brown Township, Ohio on December 13, 2006. He disappeared with his father, Ernest.
They were last heard from when Ernest called a friend and said he was going to go and get physical therapy for his injured rotator cuff. He asked the post office to keep a check for him there. Neither of the men were ever heard from again.
The truck Ernest was driving disappeared with him, as well as David's red 1997 Mercury Tracer with Ohio license plates numbered DD18QL. The Tracer had been borrowed from one of Ernest's friends. A photograph of it is posted with this summary.
David's mother and Ernest's parents reported the missing men on December 15. Authorities went to Ernest's trailer home and found no signs of a break-in and nothing missing.
The day after the Deckers were reported missing, an anonymous telephone caller led police to Ernest's truck in a wooded area near the trailer park where he lived.
The driver's side door was unlocked, the keys were in the ignition and various items, including clothing and Ernest's eyeglasses, were located at the scene. Ernest's blood was found on the lens of the eyeglasses.
In October 2008, nearly two years after the Ernest and David disappeared, investigators announced they had a person of interest in their s. The man was publicly identified as Randy Kedigh in January 2009.
A photo of Kedigh is posted with this summary. He was renting a trailer from from Ernest and, shortly before the Deckers' disappearances, he paid his rent with a bad check and had an altercation with Ernest as a result.
Kedigh has an extensive criminal history dating back to his teens. He has been arrested for robbery, kidnapping, assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and multiple charges of domestic violence.
In 2008, witnesses came forward and said Kedigh drove a small red car, resembling David's borrowed Mercury Tracer, to his sister's house on Robertsville Avenue in Paris Township, Ohio around the time the Deckers disappeared.
He parked the car behind a shed and cut it up with a saw and an electric grinder. Most of the parts were taken to a salvage yard, while the engine and the transmission were scrapped. When investigators searched the shed, they found a hood, two front fenders, two taillights, parts of a headlight assembly, a radiator and a tire jack.
The vehicle identification number (VIN) on the fenders matched the missing Mercury Tracer. Authorities went to Kedigh's home to interview him, and were permitted to search his trailer. They found a crack pipe and marijuana.
Kedigh was on probation for an unrelated weapons charge at the time, and for possessing the drugs and drug paraphernalia he was returned to prison to serve a two-year term.
David is a Marine veteran and doesn't drink or smoke. Both he and his father are described as men who could defend themselves in a fight.
The Deckers have not answered their cellular phones since they went missing; all calls are automatically transferred to voice mail. Ernest never picked up his check, he left a few hundred dollars behind in his bank account, and he and David are not believed to have been carrying much money when they went missing.
Authorities believe the Deckers were murdered. Their disappearances remain unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Carroll County Sheriff's Office
330-627-2141
Other
America's Most Wanted
The Canton Repository
WTOV 9
Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team
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
