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
Eric Grady Smith
Smith, date, approximate 2013
Date Missing 11/08/2013
Missing From
Cedar Bluff, Virginia
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Age 42 years old
Height and Weight 6'1, 210 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Camouflage-print hunting clothes and a titanium Timex watch. Carrying a Thompson Center .50 caliber muzzle-loading gun with a stainless steel barrel and a camouflage-print stock.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Smith has a brown knot on the front of his left shin. He is blind in one eye.
Details of Disappearance Smith was last seen in Cedar Bluff, Virginia on November 8, 2013. His wife stated he left home on foot during the early morning hours to go hunting on his property on west Hurt Buggy Road. He's an experienced hunter and very familiar with the area.
When he failed to return home by evening, his family began searching for him and notified the police. Smith has never been heard from again. An extensive search turned up no indication of his whereabouts. He left his phone and cigarettes behind at home, and his wallet inside his truck. His rifle, which he would have taken hunting with him, has never been located.
Smith worked for the Consol Coal Company at the time of his disappearance. He was general foreman of the Buchanan No. 1 mine, in charge of over 500 people, and is described as a careful and conscientious person who was respected by the workers, studied all the safety regulations and made sure to abide by them.
In late October 2013, Smith had gone on a business trip to Atlanta, Georgia for a week. He was supposed to go to work the day after arriving home, but his wife called in sick for him, and he stayed absent on sick leave for the next five days. He also didn't check on how things were going at the mine or talk to any staff there during that period, which is uncharacteristic of his behavior; a mine foreman is supposed to be on call at all times.
On Thursday, November 6, Smith emailed the coal company to say he was feeling better, would go hunting on Friday, and would report to work on Saturday. Then he disappeared. He wasn't having any personal or work problems at the time of his disappearance, and his loved ones don't believe he would have walked out of his life and abandoned his wife, daughters and career.
There is some speculation that he met with foul play, since the search of his property turned up no sign that he was there or that he had been in an accident. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Tazewell County Sheriff's Office
276-988-0645
Other
Virginia State Police
The Richlands News-Press
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph
WCYB 5
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
