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
Jesus De La Cruz
Jesus, date, approximate 1996; Age-progression to age 31 (date, approximate 2021)
Date Missing 09/28/1996
Missing From
Lynn, Massachusetts
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Male
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 01/03/1990 (32)
Age 6 years old
Height and Weight 4'6, 60 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue jeans and brown or yellow boots or high-top shoes.
Associated Vehicle(s) Pink Huffy bicycle with two flat tires
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Jesus has a scar above his left eye and birthmarks on his left calf and on the left side of his forehead. His left ear is pierced.
Details of Disappearance Jesus was last seen at about 6:00 p.m. on September 28, 1996, walking with a nine-year-old male friend on Park Street in the Commons area of Lynn, Massachusetts, near his family's residence. Jesus was pushing his pink Huffy bicycle, which had two flat tires at the time. He was on his way home after playing in Bennett Circle.
Jesus's friend told authorities that they were approached by an unidentified Caucasian man in his twenties or thirties with shoulder-length black hair. The man was walking with a shepherd/collie dog with one white eye and one brown eye. His friend said the individual lured Jesus away by promising him a new bicycle. Jesus never returned home and has not been seen again. He attended Connery Elementary School at the time of his disappearance.
Authorities identified the man as Robert C. Levesque, 26, shortly after Jesus vanished. Levesque lived just around the corner from Jesus's home in 1996. He owned a dog matching the description of the alleged abductor's animal in 1996, and his dog, named Peaches, was found at one of the seven addresses he had given as recent residences. His apartment was searched and investigators discovered duct tape and handcuffs. It is not known if the items were related to Jesus's .
He called in sick at his job the evening of Jesus's disappearance and was arrested after Jesus vanished. Levesque was charged with a parole violation, motor vehicle offenses, and possession of stolen property in mid-October 1996. He has never been charged in connection with Jesus's disappearance.
The Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS) accused Jesus's mother, Magdalena Rodriguez (some agencies refer to her as "Magdalena Ramirez"), of neglect in the weeks following her son's disappearance. The agency said that Rodriguez did not report Jesus as a missing child until midnight on September 28, six hours after his apparent abduction.
Others speculated that Jesus was abducted as the result of theorized drug use by his family members. Rodriguez denied any wrongdoing in Jesus's and maintained that the claims were the result of racism against Hispanic individuals.
Various rumors concerning Jesus's circulated after his disappearance. Some people claimed that he had been taken to Puerto Rico, New York City, or the Dominican Republic as part of a deal to keep Rodriguez out of unspecified trouble. She has denied the allegations.
Rodriguez has been interviewed by the police regarding her son's disappearance and says she is not concealing any knowledge connected to his . She has since moved to another part of Massachusetts.
Jesus's father, Juan De La Cruz, had been accused of abusing his son and threatening to abduct him from Rodriguez's custody prior to Jesus's disappearance. Authorities stated that Juan was at home at the time his son went missing, however. Juan has never been charged in connection with Jesus's , and maintains contact with the police handling the investigation.
There have been many possible sightings of Jesus around the country in the years after his disappearance, but none of the sightings have been confirmed. Jesus has never been located and his disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Lynn Police Department
781-595-2000
Massachusetts State Police
781-396-0100
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Massachusetts State Police
Unsolved Mysteries
The Boston Globe
The Cape Cod Times
SouthCoastToday
City of Lynn Police Department
The Daily Item
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
