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 Ronnal Provost
Provost, date, approximate 2002
Date Missing 08/21/2002
Missing From
San Diego, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/14/1982 (40)
Age 20 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A diamond stud earring.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Provost has a scar on his right knee. His left ear is pierced.
Details of Disappearance Provost was employed as a civilian merchant seaman on the U.S. Navy ship Bold during August 2002. The ship docked in San Diego, California and Provost told people he was going south to Tijuana, Mexico. He never returned to the Bold and has never been heard from again.
His family originally thought he left voluntarily, but they now suspect that he was the victim of a kidnap/robbery in either San Diego or Tijuana. His ship later set sail without him and he was not reported missing until August 23, two days after his disappearance.
Provost mentioned to his grandmother prior to his disappearance that he was unhappy on the Bold, but he did not give any reasons for his displeasure. The ship's mission was highly classified.
Provost's ATM card was used at three Tijuana locations after his disappearance, between 10:07 p.m. on August 21 and 7:18 a.m. on August 23. About $1,300 to $1,400 was withdrawn from his account.
After Provost's disappearance was discovered, his account was frozen. His loved ones say he is frugal man who would be unlikely to withdraw that much money all at once.
Provost's check card was used at the Hotel Libertad, a cheap Tijuana hotel. The clerk claimed that he had paid $35.24 for one night's lodging for a man named Juan Marquez. However, the signature on the receipt had apparently been forged; it was not in Provost's handwriting.
Sometime after Provost's disappearance, his Florida driver's license was mailed home to his family. It is unknown who sent it. His name was misspelled on the envelope, which was postmarked San Diego and had no return address.
Weeks after he disappeared, Provost's grandmother got a telephone call from a woman with a Spanish accent who asked "David? David?" and hung up. She also got a call from a man who spoke to her Spanish. Provost's grandmother does not speak Spanish and could not understand most of what was being said, only the phrase "no policia."
The calls were made to Provost's grandmother's new phone number which she had given Provost before he left for the ship. Neither one could be traced. She believes they may have been ransom calls. Inquiries to hospitals, police stations and morgues in Mexico have not turned up any information about Provost's whereabouts.
Provost speaks Spanish and English fluently. He has visited Costa Rica fifteen times, and hoped to purchase land there someday. None of his friends in Costa Rica or anywhere else have heard from him since his disappearance.
He dropped out of high school and eventually graduated from the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Maryland. He was raised by his grandmother from the age of eleven because he didn't get along with his stepfather.
Provost's family lives in Lutz, Florida. They say it is uncharacteristic of him to disappear and not contact his loved ones. Provost also does not drink heavily or use drugs. He is described as introverted and not streetwise. He is a bodybuilder and has a red belt in tae kwan do. His remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency
San Diego Police Department
619-531-2277
Other
Child Protection Education of America
The Salt Lake Tribune
The St. Petersburg Times Online
Inside Edition
The Tampa Tribune
NamUs
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
