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

Gordon Bethel Lopez
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Gordon, date, approximate 1986
Date Missing 01/03/1986
Missing From
Portland, Oregon
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/08/1964 (58)
Age 21 years old
Height and Weight 6'0 - 6'3, 180 - 200 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Unknown, but he usually wears casual clothing such as jeans and flannel shirts.
Medical Conditions Lopez may have been depressed at the time of his disappearance.
Associated Vehicle(s) Maroon and red 1972 Volvo
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Red hair, hazel eyes. Gordon's hair may appear any color from dark brown to red depending on his exposure to the sunlight. He may have slight acquired deformities to his ears ("cauliflower ears") from his experiences as a wrestler in high school. His nicknames are Gordy and G.B.
Details of Disappearance Lopez was last seen in Portland, Oregon on January 3, 1986. He was a junior at Reed College at the time of his disappearance; his family lived in the Los Angeles, California area.
Gordon was close to his eighteen-year-old sister Terry and they kept in touch by phone and letters. Terry last heard from her brother at Christmas in 1985, when he called to thank her for the gifts she'd given him. He didn't indicate that anything was amiss during the conversation.
After Christmas, Gordon wrote a letter home addressed to their mother, but their mother was in Japan visiting one of their siblings over the winter 1985/86 holidays, and Terry opened the letter instead. Gordon enclosed his final, uncashed college tuition check and wrote that they would never see him again and he had no regrets.
When Terry went to his apartment in Portland, she discovered he'd cleaned it out and vanished. His car, a maroon and red 1972 Volvo, disappeared with him and was never registered again, and his Social Security number hasn't been active since he went missing.
The Lopez family hired a private investigator, but they were unable to trace Gordon. Although his farewell note didn't mention suicide, Terry believes Gordon was depressed at the time of his disappearance. Their father had died of cancer years before, their mother drank heavily when they were children, and none of the children got along with her.
Gordon has previously worked summer jobs in Texas and Alaska, and his sister believes he could have traveled to Alaska after his disappearance. In the summer of 1985, he had worked as a logger on Heceta Island in the Alexander Archipelago, in southeast part of the state.
Terry describes him as an extremely intelligent man who was talented in mathematics and enjoyed reading, particularly science fiction and the classics. His favorite author was the Swiss/German poet and novelist Hermann Hesse. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Portland Police Department
503-823-0446
Other
NamUs
The Anchorage Press

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