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
Karen Farmer Beard
Beard, date, approximate 1991
Date Missing 01/15/1991
Missing From
Kingston, Tennessee
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 35 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 120 pounds
Medical Conditions Beard was seven and a half months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes.
Details of Disappearance Karen was last seen at 7:30 p.m. on January 15, 1991, when she dropped her two daughters off at the home of her former in-laws in Kingston, Tennessee. She was supposed to go to work the next day at the Shoney's restaurant in Lenoir City, Tennessee, but never showed up.
That day, someone identifying herself as Karen called a towing service, Colyer Wrecker Service, and gave them directions so they could tow her car. Investigators believe the caller may not have really been Karen, however; the towing service employee who took the call listened to a recording of Karen's voice and said it wasn't the same person who called him. She has never been heard from again.
Karen's lawyer reported her missing on January 23 after she missed an appointment. When the lawyer and the police went to her apartment in Harriman, Tennessee, they found it undisturbed with no indications of forced entry or a struggle. Her purse, wallet and car keys were at the apartment. Her car was found near the Center Ferry Bridge at the Clinch River, less than a mile from Karen's former in-laws' home.
Prior to her disappearance, Karen was involved in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband, Reece Beard. They had separated in California in 1985. Reece was given custody of their two daughters by default in 1987 after Karen failed to appear for a custody hearing. She later went to Tennessee to try and get the children back.
The two girls reportedly said they wanted to live with their mother. There were charges of alcoholism, adultery, drug abuse and drug dealing on both sides, and Karen was reportedly "mortally afraid" of Reece. She asked her sister to become her children's guardian if anything should happen to her.
Karen did have a history of cocaine and methamphetamine use and was hospitalized for her drug problem in California in 1985, but her sister stated she had gotten clean in order to be a better parent to her children. Her sister stated Reece was the father of Karen's unborn child, but Reece denied it. Karen's former mother-in-law described her as unstable and stated she had dropped out of sight before, once for nearly a year.
Authorities believe Karen was taken to a house in Kingston and killed, and her body disposed of. They viewed several of Reece's friends as suspects in Karen's disappearance. Years later, as one of them was dying of cancer, he asked to speak with investigators. By the time the police arrived at the hospital to interview him, however, he had died.
No one has ever been charged in Karen's disappearance, but foul play is strongly suspected. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Roane County Sheriff's Office
865-717-4700
Other
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
NamUs
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
