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

Hannah Emily Upp
Upp, date, approximate 2017; Upp's Venus symbol tattoo; Upp's triangle/wave tattoo
Date Missing 09/14/2017
Missing From
Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 32 years old
Height and Weight 5'7, 120 - 130 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly a bathing suit or shorts and a sports bra.
Medical Conditions Upp has a history of dissociative fugue, a rare condition where a person loses their autobiographical memory and may travel extended distances.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Upp's nose and ears are pierced. She is fluent in Spanish. She has the following tattoos: a triangle with a wave on the inside of her right ankle, a sunflower on her right thigh, and a Venus symbol with an extra line on the left side of her lower torso. Photo of two of Upp's tattoos are posted with this summary.
Details of Disappearance Upp was last seen in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 14, 2017. She disappeared a week after Hurricane Irma struck the island, and a week before Hurricane Maria arrived and caused heavy rain.
Upp has disappeared before. In August 2008, while she was living in New York City and had a job teaching school, she went missing on the first day of school and wasn't found for twenty days. People on theStaten Island Ferry found her floating facedown in the water, about a mile off the southern tip of Manhattan. She was rescued, hospitalized and treated for hypothermia, severe sunburn and dehydration, then transferred to a psychiatric unit.
After her rescue, Upp was able to recall her identity but couldn't explain why she'd gone missing and had only vague recollections of the time she was gone. It was later determined she spent the time roaming around New York City. After a series of tests, doctors couldn't find anything physically wrong with her and diagnosed her with dissociative fugue. This condition is usually caused by psychological trauma, but Upp stated she had not had any severe traumas in her life.
Four years later, in 2012, Upp moved to Maryland and took a job at a Montessori school there. She disappeared again, also on the first day, and found herself two days later in a creek about a mile and a half from her school; she'd apparently gone into a dissociative fugue again. She resumed her normal life and went back to work afterwards.
A year after that, she moved to St. Thomas and took a job at the Virgin Islands Montessori School. She disappeared for the final time four years later. She left her sundress, sandals, car and car keys at a small bar on Sapphire Beach, where she often snorkeled.
Upp is a skilled, physically fit swimmer and might conceivably have survived for days in the water. Her loved ones hope she's still alive; one theory is she got on one of the many boats evacuating the island due to the hurricanes, and traveled to Florida, the Bahamas, St. Croix or Puerto Rico. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Virgin Islands Police Department
340-772-5605
Other
NamUs
Hannah Upp's Facebook Page
Facebook Page for Hannah Upp
The New Yorker
The New York 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