Missing
Sharon Lynn Pretorius
Sharon, approximately 1973; Age when reported missing: 50 (approximately 2010)
Date and time person was reported missing : 09/28/1973
Missing location (approx) :
Dayton, Ohio
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 04/23/1960 (61)
Age at the time of disappearance: 13 years old
Height / Weight : 5'7, 135 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A long-sleeved yellow flowered sweater, blue jeans and white sneakers.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Sharon did not wear makeup in 1973, and she frequently wore her hair in braids or pigtails.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Sharon was last seen on September 28, 1973, when she left her home on Cornell Drive in the Dayton View neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio. She had attended her classes at Fairview High School, where she was a freshman.
After school she went home, had a piano lesson, and left to collect money in the neighborhood for her Dayton Journal Herald newspaper route. She has never been heard from again.
Procedures at the time prohibited Sharon's family from reporting her as a missing child until 24 hours had passed. Investigators believe she did not run away and was probably abducted and murdered.
A witness saw a girl matching Sharon's description struggling with a Caucasian man near a car at the corner of Cornell and Philadelphia Drive at 5:30 p.m. on the day she disappeared. The car was a dark blue 1965 Ford sedan, and the man is described as Caucasian, between thirty and forty years old, with a medium complexion and a full beard. The man has never been identified and the girl was not confirmed to be Sharon.
Sharon's family describes her as an intelligent, responsible and studious teenAge at the time of disappearance: r who always dressed modestly. She skipped the eighth grade at Cornell Heights School prior to her disappearance.
Authorities followed up many leads in her case over the years, but her disappearance remains a mystery. Her family held a memorial service for her in 2006.
Other information and links : ncy
Dayton Police Department
937-333-1070
September 2021 updates and sources
The Dayton Daily News
The Doe Network
Ohio Attorney General's Office
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 not known. 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�5% 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.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s 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.
The Dover Daily Reporter
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
