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

Linda Louise Skeek
Linda, date, approximate 2016; Thomas Skeek
Date Missing 01/01/2016
Missing From
Anchorage, Alaska
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Native American
Date of Birth 02/20/1983 (39)
Age 32 years old
Height and Weight 5'10, 200 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A black coat, a red vest, a red skirt and high-heeled shoes.
Medical Conditions Linda suffers from alcohol addiction issues and has checked herself into rehabilitation centers in the past. She does not use illicit drugs.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Native American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Linda is a member of the Tlingit tribe. Her maiden name is Sheldon. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Linda was last seen in Anchorage, Alaska on January 1, 2016. Her husband, Thomas Skeek Jr., said that night he drove her to three bars and a strip club and would wait in the parking lot with their children until she was ready to go to the next location. They arrived home at 1:00 a.m. and Linda resumed drinking alcohol.
Thomas said Linda wanted to drive back downtown to visit another bar, but he took the car keys away from her and they got into a verbal argument about it. Linda screamed at him angrily and then left home on foot at 2:30 a.m., presumably to go to the bar. She has never been heard from again.
Linda was carrying only her Alaska identification card and possibly $40 in cash at the time of her disappearance; she didn't have any credit or debit cards with her, and Thomas had the only cellular phone in the family. Her husband reported her missing on January 4, at the urging of Linda's foster mother, Rena Sims.
Linda would frequently leave her home on weekend drinking binges, but would always return by Sunday night so she would be able to go to work on Monday. Her family stated no matter what was going on in her life she always called her loved ones at holidays and anniversaries. She and Thomas had moved from Juneau, Alaska to Anchorage a few months before she went missing, and Linda still has relatives and contacts in Juneau.
The Skeeks' marriage was troubled. In November 2015, according to court documents, Linda pointed a loaded handgun at her husband in front of their seven-year-old daughter.
That same month, she filed for a protective order against Thomas for herself and their two young children. In her petition, she said Thomas had assaulted her by grabbing her by the arm and pushing her, and had left bruises on her chest. She withdrew her petition ten days later, and she and Thomas reconciled.
Linda was having an extramarital affair, however, with a man she'd met while she and Thomas were separated in November 2015. He never heard from her again after New Years' Eve 2015. Linda told her loved ones she wanted to divorce Thomas.
Linda's boyfriend had an alibi for the night of her disappearance and isn't considered a suspect in her . He knew Linda was married, and said he thought she may have been seeing other men at the same time she was seeing him.
On January 20, three weeks after Linda's disappearance, the police searched her home and a vehicle. After the search was completed, Thomas was charged with murder and evidence tampering in her . He has a prior criminal history for attempted sexual abuse of a minor and is a registered sex offender; the victim was a fifteen-year-old girl.
Sims stated she had been suspicious of Thomas when, after Linda's disappearance, he wouldn't allow their children to speak to her. She repeatedly asked him if he had killed Linda, and he kept saying no, but finally said instead, "I don't think so." She repeated, "You don't think so?" and he said, "No, I did not kill Linda."
Sims notified the police immediately, and Thomas was charged shortly thereafter. When he was arrested, police noted a possible human bite mark on his right arm as well as some bruising on his neck, collarbone, back and hip.
Investigators found blood evidence in the Skeek residence and believe Thomas murdered Linda there and tried to clean up the crime scene. There were bloodstains in the bathroom, in the basement crawl space, on the kitchen wall, and in the passenger compartment of the couple's vehicle, and there was also a clump of long, dark hair in the crawl space.
In the dryer was some clothing, which looked like it had been washed with too much bleach, and there was a notation on the calendar for January 1 that said: "2:30 AM Linda walked off". Authorities learned Thomas purchased bleach, ammonia and Lysol after Linda's disappearance. One of the couple's children told their great-uncle that she'd seen Linda's feet in the downstairs bathroom "with blood all around it" on the night of her disappearance.
The woman who lived in the unit above the Skeeks reported hearing a loud fight in the early morning hours of January 1, and said Thomas was angry and swearing at Linda and Linda asked for a divorce. Then the neighbor heard the sound of glass breaking and things being thrown, and there was a large bang and a jolt that knocked a photo off the neighbor's own wall. She never heard anything from Linda after that.
When Thomas told Linda's mother she was missing, he added, "They'll never find her." He was having an extramarital affair at the time she went missing, and his girlfriend moved in shortly afterwards.
At Thomas's murder trial in March 2019, his and Linda's daughter testified for the prosecution. Thomas's defense argued that there was not enough evidence to prove that Linda was deceased, and that if she was, there was insufficient evidence to prove her husband was responsible. His attorney suggested she had been the victim of a random attacker, was struck and killed by a drunk driver, or deliberately walked out of her life.
After three hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Thomas of all charges.
Linda worked for the NANA Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native social economic group, at the time of her disappearance. She has three children, two by Thomas and one from a prior relationship. She spent years in foster care as a child, cared for by the Sims family. She was still close to her former foster parents and siblings, and showed up at her their home during the holidays.
Foul play is suspected in her disappearance due to the circumstances involved. Her loved ones hope to recover her body.
Investigating Agency
Anchorage Police Department
907-786-8900
Other
KTOO
Alaska Public Media
The Juneau Empire
Justice for Native Women
Linda Skeek's Facebook Page
KTVA
The Anchorage Daily News
USA Today