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
Doris Fay Lentz
Doris, date, approximate 1996; Doris's 1994 Toyota Celica
Date Missing 04/23/1996
Missing From
Arlington County, Virginia
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 31 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 155 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Dark teal 1994 Toyota Celica with the Virginia license plate number ZWR-9728 (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Dark blonde hair, green eyes. Doris's ears are pierced. Her middle name may be spelled "Faye."
Details of Disappearance Doris was last seen at approximately 7:00 p.m. on April 23, 1996 as she departed her Arlington County, Virginia residence. She was en route to pick up her child from her estranged husband Jay E. Lentz's home in Fort Washington, Maryland at the time. Jay's house was approximately 20 miles from Doris's residence.
Doris has never been seen again. Her dark teal 1994 Toyota Celica with the Virginia license plate number ZWR-9728 was discovered abandoned several days after her disappearance. Photos of the car are posted with this summary.
The vehicle was located on Livingston Road Southeast in an apartment complex parking lot, which is known to be a high-crime area of Washington, D.C. The car was splattered with blood and Doris's keys, cash and credit cards were still inside it. Her purse was in full view in the car. There was no other sign of her at the scene.
Doris and Jay were involved in a bitter divorce in April 1996. She had filed several police reports against Jay prior to moving out of the couple's home in 1993. Doris stated that he abused and harassed her in the complaints.
A court hearing had been scheduled regarding the divorce on April 24, 1996, the day following Doris's disappearance. Doris had been awarded primary custody of their child, and Jay apparently owed her a substantial amount in back alimony payments.
Jay claimed that he never saw his estranged wife on the day she vanished. Investigators learned that Jay had sent their child to his mother's residence before Doris was scheduled to pick the child up from his house.
Authorities do not believe that Jay informed Doris where their child was located on the day she vanished and allowed her to drive to his Maryland home. Jay moved to Indiana with their daughter in October 1996, six months after Doris vanished.
Jay was arrested in connection with Doris's disappearance in May 2001 in Indiana. In August 2001, He was charged with her kidnapping and causing her death. Jay maintains his innocence in the . He was convicted of the charge in June 2003 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The trial judge took the unusual step of throwing out the jury's verdict; he acquitted Jay in July 2003.
The judge cited a lack of physical evidence linking Jay to Doris's presumed murder and questioned whether they had even seen each other the day she disappeared. The judge also claimed that even if she had been murdered there was no evidence to indicate that Doris was at any time held against her will, an essential element in a kidnapping .
However, in September 2004, a court of appeals ordered a new trial for Jay, saying that the trial judge was wrong to overturn the verdict. He was convicted again of the same charges in March 2006.
Doris has never been located, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved in her disappearance. She was employed as a receptionist for former Tennessee senator and United States ambassador to China, James Sasser, in 1996. Jay is a former naval intelligence officer.
Investigating Agency
Arlington County Police Department
703-228-4183
703-558-2222
Other
Arlington County Police Department
The Washington Post
The New York Post
The Post-Tribune
ABC 7 News
The Richmond Times-Dispatch
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
