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

Donald James Cavanaugh
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Cavanaugh, date, approximate 2006; James DeNoyer
Date Missing 03/01/2005
Missing From
Ukiah, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/26/1941 (81)
Age 63 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 140 pounds
Medical Conditions Cavanaugh was in poor health at the time of his disappearance and still weak from a recent quadruple bypass surgery. He is classified as disabled.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, blue eyes. Cavanaugh may use the middle name Jim or the initials JC, and he may spell his first name "Donnald."
Details of Disappearance Cavanaugh grew up in Ottawa, Illinois and owned a horse ranch in Elgin, Illinois as an adult. He got into financial trouble and his health broke down, and he was unable to keep up with his ranch, although he continued to work with other people's horses.
In 2004, his nephew, James "Jimmy" DeNoyer, suggested they go into the horse ranching business in Westport, California. DeNoyer had a twenty-acre plot there which he used to grow marijuana. DeNoyer drove to Illinois and picked up his uncle, and Cavanaugh selected 14 horses to stock the ranch.
Cavanaugh and DeNoyer found they didn't like each other, however, and Cavanaugh was unimpressed with his nephew's ranch setup. The horses were being badly treated and many of them died, and Cavanaugh wanted out of the business, but DeNoyer insisted they keep trying and bought more horses. Meanwhile, the two men continued to argue with each other and DeNoyer had full control of all of Cavanaugh's money. A photo of DeNoyer is posted with this summary.
Just before Christmas in 2004, Cavanaugh was taken to the San Francisco Airport by DeNoyer, allegedly at gunpoint. He was stranded there without money or transportation for three days before a friend picked him up.
Cavanaugh stayed with the friend for a few weeks, then went to Plowshares, a facility for the indigent in Ukiah, California. Other people there heard him say he wanted to go back to DeNoyer's property to get his belongings and his three dogs. This, in March 2005, is the last time anyone saw him. He was reported missing in May.
David Neily, another man connected to DeNoyer, vanished on April 14, 2006. In May 2020, his skeletal remains were found in an isolated area in Branscomb, California. The bones were identified in November 2021. His death is under investigation and it's not clear whether foul play was involved.
In December 2005, Mendocino County Animal Control seized 36 of DeNoyer's quarter horses; it was the largest such intervention in county history. The horses had been severely neglected and were starving and without shelter.
Police arrested the ranch caretaker and also seized four healthy dogs, three of which had belonged to Cavanaugh. The caretaker was subsequently released without charge and the dogs returned to DeNoyer.
DeNoyer said he was unaware of how his horses were being treated and blamed the caretakers he'd hired to look after them. He was indicted on 36 felony counts of cruelty to animals, but at trial the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
DeNoyer is considered a person of interest in both Neily and Cavanaugh's disappearances, but he hasn't been charged in either . Foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency
Mendocino County Sheriff's Department
707-463-4095
Other
California Attorney General's Office
Mendocino County Sheriff's Office
The Anderson Valley Advertiser
Defrosting Cold s
The New York Post

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