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
Gail Ann Russell
Russell, date, approximate 1995
Date Missing 09/04/1995
Missing From
Bayonet Point, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 02/11/1965 (57)
Age 30 years old
Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'8, 135 - 145 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue jeans, a blue or yellow t-shirt, white socks, white sneakers and a gold wedding ring with a small imbedded diamond.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Russell has scars on her left wrist and abdomen. She wore contact lenses in 1995, but did not have them on at the time of her disappearance. Some agencies spell her last name "Russel."
Details of Disappearance Russell was last seen inside her family's trailer in the vicinity of the 7100 block of Oakley Avenue in Bayonet Point, Florida on September 4, 1995. She and her live-in boyfriend, Larry Podolski, went to bed at midnight.
Podolski stated that $245 in cash disappeared from the residence that night; the couple had planned to use the money to pay bills.
Podolski claims he called the police to report Russell's disappearance at 1:00 p.m. the same day she vanished, but was told he had to wait 48 hours, so he did not report her missing until 7:27 p.m. two days later. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office does not have a record of his phone call, however, nor do they have a policy of waiting two days to take a missing persons report.
Russell's family told authorities that it was uncharacteristic of her to abandon her children and not share any travel plans with loved ones. She left behind her contact lenses, driver's license and other belongs.
Podolski, who was the father of her two sons, had asked her to marry him. He claimed she said yes and they were planning on a February 1996 wedding, but Russell's mother said her daughter was planning to leave Podolski and take their children.
Russell's family describes the couple's relationship as troubled, and they openly accused Podolski of murder after her disappearance. He admitted that he had problems with drugs and alcohol in 1995, but said Russell also had substance abuse issues.
She and Podolski had a violent, drunken argument in July 1995 and he was arrested, but the charges against him were dropped after Russell recanted her story, and she was charged with filing a false police report. Podolski said they were not having any problems by the time of her September 1995 disappearance.
Russell is considered endangered, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear. Podolski died of a drug overdose in 2008. He was never charged in connection with Russell's , but is still considered a suspect. Her disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Pasco County Sheriff's Office
800-854-2862
727-844-7781
Other
Pasco County Sheriff's Office
The Tampa Tribune
NamUs
The St. Petersburg Times
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
