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
Joseph Andrew Spisak
Joseph, date, approximate 1974; Age-progression to age 56 (date, approximate 2018)
Date Missing 01/27/1974
Missing From
Hammond, Indiana
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/21/1962 (60)
Age 11 years old
Height and Weight 4'0, 65 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A tan trench coat over a brown hooded corduroy jacket, and green rubber hunting boots with yellow tops.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Joseph wears eyeglasses. He previously broke his arm at age five.
Details of Disappearance Joseph was last seen in Hammond, Indiana on January 27, 1974. That morning he went on his paper route, delivered all his copies of the Hammond Times, and left the newspaper bag on his front porch. His usual routine after that would have been to attend mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, a few blocks from his home in the 7000 block of McCook Avenue.
Joseph never arrived home for lunch, and his parents called one of his friends to ask where he was. The friend said he'd seen him playing on the grounds of Morton School. It was a household rule that everyone had to be present for dinner at 5:00 p.m., but Joseph didn't arrive home for that either, and his parents became concerned and called the police.
Witnesses reported seeing him walking near the Catholic Cemetery on Kennedy Avenue by the Norfolk and Western Railroad tracks at 5:00. Others thought they saw Joseph walking southeast near the Hessville Cemetery at 169th and Arizona. The railroad sent an inspection car along the tracks, but found nothing amiss. An extensive search turned up no sign of Joseph anywhere.
The Spisak family never believed Joseph ran away; he hadn't mentioned any runaway plans to anyone, and he left all his belongings behind, including his clothing, his second pair of glasses, his Matchbox cars, his baseball mitt and his prized baseball card collection. Authorities think it's possible that he was abducted, but the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear.
Investigating Agency
Hammond Police Department
219-852-2906
Other
Indiana Missing Persons Bulletin
The Northwest Indiana Times
Locating the Missing
NamUs
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
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
