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

Joshua Cheney Guimond







Guimond, date, approximate 2002; Age-progression to age 30 (date, approximate 2012)
Date Missing 11/09/2002
Missing From
Collegeville, Minnesota
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/18/1982 (40)
Age 20 years old
Height and Weight 5'10 - 6'0, 170 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray Gap or St. John University's hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a wristwatch.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Guimond He has a vertical scar on his shoulder about four inches long and half an inch wide. He is supposed to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, but did not have either with him at the time of his disappearance. His nickname is Josh.
Details of Disappearance Guimond was last seen between approximately 11:00 p.m. and midnight on November 9, 2002, leaving Metten Court, a dormitory on the north end of the St. John's University campus in Collegeville, Minnesota. He was a junior at the university at the time he disappeared, majoring in political science.
Guimond left a party at Matten Court to go to the bathroom and when he did not return within fifteen minutes, his friends assumed he had walked back to his on-campus apartment at St. Maur House in the middle of campus. He apparently never arrived there, however. His friends called his apartment shortly after they last saw him, and assumed he was asleep when they got no answer.
Guimond's car was later found undisturbed on the campus. His friends reported him missing the next evening when they could not find him and he failed to appear a school function. His eyeglasses, contact lenses and credit cards were left behind and no personal belongings were missing from his apartment. At the time he vanished, he was not wearing clothing appropriate for the weather.
In the hours after Guimond disappeared, and on subsequent days, someone erased items from his computer hard drive. It isn't clear who did this or whether the erasure is connected to his disappearance. Some of the information that was erased, and later recovered, was about making fake identification cards.
One theory is that Guimond was struck by a vehicle on the night of his disappearance and killed. Some of the monks who at St. John's Abbey, attached to the university, had a history of alcohol abuse, and idea is that one of them hit him, and decided to cover up the crime to avoid a scandal. There isn't any evidence to support this, however; it remains a matter of speculation.
At around the time Guimond, disappeared, three other college-aged people disappeared from the Minnesota and Wisconsin areas. They were all Minnesota residents, and all of them vanished on weekend nights after having visited bars or parties.
The bodies of two of them were subsequently found in local bodies of water. The third, Erika Dalquist, was the victim of a homicide. Her remains were found on May 15, 2004 on property owned by the grandparents of William Gene Myears, a long-time suspect in her , and he was charged with second-degree murder.
None of the missing young adults knew each other. However, it was suggested that the four s might linked, as it is statistically improbable that four people of similar age would randomly vanish from the same area at around the same time. In addition, all three of the men who disappeared were college students with similar heights and builds, and were described as high achievers.
Police investigated and, citing "glaring differences" in the four s, stated there was no connection.
Guimond's loved ones say it is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning. They believe foul play may have been involved in his disappearance.
Authorities, however, think it more likely that Guimond was slightly intoxicated when he left the party, and that he stumbled into a body of water and drowned. They have searched several nearby lakes, but failed to come up with any evidence to support their theory.
Other theories are that Guimond took his own life or left of his own accord, but there is no evidence to support these hypotheses either. He and his girlfriend of nearly five years had broken up a month prior to his disappearance, but remained friends.
Guimond's ex-girlfriend said he is very intelligent and driven and hoped to go to law school after college. He was a member of his college's Republican organization and hoped to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives someday. His family lives in Maple Lake, Minnesota. He remains missing and his is unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Stearns County Sheriff's Department
320-259-3700
Other
NamUs
Stearns County, Minnesota Sheriff
Find Joshua Guimond
Communication Workers of America
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
About.com Crime and Punishment
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
America's Most Wanted
MyFox Twin Cities
The Maple Lake Messenger
CBS Minnesota
Unfound Podcast

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