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.



Missing Person Photos

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

Kristen Deborah Modafferi
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Modafferi, date, approximate 1997; Age-progression to age 36 (date, approximate 2015); Jon Onuma
Date Missing 06/23/1997
Missing From
San Francisco, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/01/1979 (43)
Age 18 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 140 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A black Spinelli's t-shirt, a long-sleeved dark blue plaid flannel shirt, tan pants, and possibly Fly London sneakers with laces in the front and behind the heel. They also have an imprint of a fly on each of the soles. Carrying a green Jansport backpack with a black mesh pocket and two library books inside of the bag.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Dark brown hair, brown eyes. Modafferi has facial dimples.
Details of Disappearance Modafferi was an industrial design major at North Carolina State University in 1997. She arrived in San Francisco, California on June 1, 1997 to attend a summer photography course at the University of California at Berkeley.
She was employed part-time at the former Spinelli's coffee shop (now called Tully's Coffee) at the Crocker Galleria in San Francisco's financial district during the work week. She worked at Cafe Musee in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art during the weekends. She lived with a roommate on Jayne Avenue in Oakland, California at the time, and was also taking a dance class.
Modafferi asked a co-worker at Spinelli's for directions to Baker Beach, which is located next to Land's End Beach, on June 23, 1997. Her shift ended at 3:00 p.m. that day, but she was seen approximately 45 minutes later on the Crocker Galleria's second floor with an unidentified blonde woman.
The unidentified blonde woman with Modafferi has never been located. Witnesses said that she was holding a green Jansport backpack, like Modafferi's, at the time they were in the Crocker Galleria.
Modafferi's family believes that it may be possible the female and Modafferi had plans to meet at the Galleria and may have departed together. The manager of Spinelli's, however, told authorities that Modafferi left the building by herself on June 23. Regardless, she has never been seen again. She never picked up her last paycheck, which was for $400.
Authorities utilized bloodhounds in the ensuing search for Modafferi. The dogs tracked her scent to the Geary Street Number 38 bus from the stop outside the Crocker Galleria. That bus travels across San Francisco to the Sutro Park Beach area near Land's End Beach.
Modafferi's scent was also traced at Sutro Park Beach, but the dogs lost the trail at the shoreline. No other evidence was located at either scene.
It is unknown if Modafferi placed the advertisement herself or if she answered the ad. All records from June 1997 have since been destroyed at the newspaper's office. It is also unclear if the advertisement is related to her disappearance.
An anonymous caller contacted KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco, on July 10, approximately two weeks after Modafferi was last seen. The caller said that he knew the identities of two women who abducted and murdered Modafferi and placed her remains under a bridge in the Point Reyes area of Marin County, California.
The women in question told authorities that they believed the phone caller was Jon Onuma. A photo of him is posted with this summary.
The females had apparently been harrassed by Onuma due to work-related problems they encountered with his girlfriend at the time, Jill Lampo. The women were preparing to fire Lampo from her position when Onuma allegedly began harassing them. Law enforcement officials questioned him about the incident and he admitted to making the phone call to KGO-TV to cause problems for the women.
Another female witness came forward and stated that Onuma allegedly abused her and threatened to kill her after Modafferi disappeared. The witness said that during the encounter, Onuma told her, "Now you know what happened to Kristen Modafferi."
Three other women stated that they had incidents involving Onuma and Lampo as well. Lampo allegedly lured the victims to Onuma and were subsequently abused by him. Authorities searched Onuma's residence and discovered Lampo's journal, which was missing pages from the time Modafferi vanished in June 1997.
It is not known if either Onuma or Lampo is connected to Modafferi's and no one has been charged with involvement in her disappearance due to a lack of evidence. Onuma has since moved to Hawaii.
Investigators looked into the possibility that Robert Durst was involved in Modafferi's . Robert's first wife, Kathleen Durst, disappeared from New York in 1982. Her remains unsolved and Robert is considered the prime suspect, although he has never been charged in connection with her .
Robert was charged with the 2001 Texas homicide of Morris Black. He claimed he murdered Black in self-defense, and was acquitted in 2003. In 2015, he was charged with murder in the 2000 shooting death of Susan Berman.
Authorities don't believe Durst was involved in Modafferi's , but he's still being considered in the 1997 disappearance of Karen Mitchell from Eureka, California, and the 1971 disappearance of Lynne Schulze from Middlebury, Vermont. Robert and Kathleen owned a health food store in Middlebury in 1971, and Schulze visited it the day she went missing
Modafferi's remains open and unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Oakland Police Department
510-238-3641
Other
Help Find Kristen Modafferi
NamUs
Unsolved Mysteries
America's Most Wanted
Child Protection Education Of America
MSNBC
Vanished Children's Alliance
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The San Francisco Chronicle
The Charlotte Observer
WSOC TV 9
The Eureka Times-Standard
The Daily Mail
The Burlington Free Press

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.



Missing Person Photos

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