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

Lisa Stasi






Lisa, date, approximate 1985; Tiffani Stasi, date, approximate 1985; John Robinson, date, approximate 2000
Date Missing 01/09/1985
Missing From
Overland Park, Kansas
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 04/11/1965 (57)
Age 19 years old
Height and Weight 5'11, 115 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Lisa's ears are pierced. Her maiden name is Elledge.
Details of Disappearance Lisa married to Carl Stasi in her hometown of Huntsville, Alabama in August 1984, one month prior to the birth of their daughter, Tiffany Lynn. Carl said that they initially planned to reside in Huntsville, but he did not have insurance and the couple relocated to Kansas City, Kansas area.
Their marriage was troubled by the end of the year and Carl re-enlisted in the United States military and relocated to Illinois. Lisa and Tiffany moved into Hope House, a shelter for battered women in Kansas City.
Lisa met John Edward Robinson Sr. during their stay. Photos of Robinson and Tiffany are posted with this summary. Robinson apparently called himself "John Osborne" when introducing himself.
Lisa told her family members that she was joining the Kansas City Outreach Program, an organization designed to assist young mothers. Robinson presented the program to Lisa as a way to receive free room and board while studying for her GED.
Lisa and Tiffany checked into Room 131 at the Rodeway Inn in Overland Park in early January 1985. Lisa told her relatives that "Mr. Osborne" arranged and paid for their new accomodations. Her sister-in-law warned her to approach the situation cautiously.
Lisa's sister-in-law babysat Tiffany during the evening hours of January 8. Lisa picked up her daughter during the morning of January 10 and said that "Osborne" was looking for her. Lisa called the Rodeway Inn's front desk and left a message for Robinson.
He arrived at her sister-in-law's house approximately 25 minutes later. Lisa and Tiffany entered Robinson's vehicle and purportedly returned to the motel. Lisa left her yellow Toyota Corolla and the majority of her personal belongings behind.
Lisa called Carl's mother later during the day. Her mother-in-law said that she was hysterical during the conversation. Lisa said that unidentified individuals told her that her mother-in-law was attempting to gain custody of Tiffany by claiming Lisa was an unfit parent. Carl's mother reassured Lisa that the story was false.
Lisa said that someone wanted her to sign four blank sheets of paper. Her mother-in-law instructed her not to sign anything without receiving guidance. Lisa eventually calmed down and said "Here they come" before terminating the conversation. She has never been heard from again.
Lisa's sister-in-law learned that she and Tiffany checked out of the motel later on January 10. She reported their disappearances to authorities on January 11. Her sister-in-law determined that "Mr. Robinson" paid for Lisa and Tiffany's motel room with a company credit card from Equi II, a management consulting firm.
The company name led investigators to Robinson, who owned Equi II and had formed the Kansas City Outreach Program as a charitable extension. Lisa's sister-in-law's husband located the Equi II offices and spoke to Robinson shortly after Lisa and Tiffany vanished. Robinson apparently became angry during the exchange and shoved her brother-in-law out of the building.
Investigators delved deeper into Robinson's past and learned that he had a criminal record for embezzling from former employers, stealing company supplies and securities fraud. No one in Overland Park, Kansas was aware of Robinson's history at the time.
Authorities learned that he approached the Truman Medical Center in Kansas in late 1984 regarding the outreach program. Robinson told social workers at the facility that he was associated with Catholic Charities and was aware of similar groups in the area.
Robinson apparently wanted young mothers to be referred to his organization after their stay in the center. Administrators at the hospital became suspicious of him when he inquired about Caucasian mothers, seeming to favor them over African-Americans. A social worker at the facility knew healthy Caucasian babies garnered higher profits than other races in the black market baby-brokering trade.
The employee stated that she did not believe Robinson worked with any mothers associated with Truman Medical Center, but Lisa delivered Tiffany at the facility and then moved on to the shelter. Authorities began to suspect that Robinson was using Equi II and his Kansas City Outreach Program as a front for an il baby-brokering business after Lisa and Tiffany vanished.
Robinson approached investigators in March of 1985 and stated that Lisa had recently babysat for a woman he knew in the area. Robinson said that the woman told him Lisa said she no longer wanted any contact with her family, which is why she and Tiffany disappeared.
When authorities interviewed the woman in question, she stated that Robinson had blackmailed her to tell the story. She said that she never met Lisa and was not familiar with her or Tiffany.
Robinson changed his version of events later, claiming that Lisa arrived at his office with a man named Bill and planned to move to Colorado to start a new life. The FBI was brought into the and agents suspected that Robinson was responsible for Lisa and Tiffany's disappearances, but they had little evidence to prove their .
Lisa's family and employees at Hope House received typed letters purportedly written by Lisa later in 1985. The notes arrived at the time when the investigation into Robinson was intensifying.
Authorities believe that the letters' contents were forged by Robinson in an attempt to make it seem that Lisa departed of her own accord. Officials believe that he may have composed the notes himself by using the blank papers Lisa possibly signed prior to her disappearance.
The letters were similar to notes allegedly written by another missing woman from Overland Park. Paula Godfrey vanished from the area in 1984 after accepting a job from Robinson. Her family members received a letter supposedly written by Godfrey after her disappearance.
Robinson was eventually convicted of various fraud and theft charges in Kansas in 1987. He suffered a series of strokes by 1990, but his verbal and performance skills remained high. He was released from prison in 1991 and began working in the mobile home industry around that time. He earned a troubled reputation for shady business practices.
Robinson showed another side of his personality in the mid-1990s when he began using online services to lure women into rough sexual situations. He used the screen name "Slavemaster" and found himself faced with numerous charges of sexual assault by 1999.
Federal authorities reopened their own investigation into Robinson's pursuits at that time and linked his name to a storage facility in Kansas. They discovered the bodies of five missing women inside the business.
Robinson was eventually charged with three counts of murder in Kansas, including Lisa's presumed homicide. Authorities believe Robinson murdered Lisa in order to use Tiffany in his baby-brokering schemes. Her remains have never been located.
Robinson's wife testified at his trial in 2001 regarding Tiffany's whereabouts. She stated that she remembered her husband bringing an infant home to their residence in January 1985. She said the infant was dirty and Robinson did not have adequate supplies to care for her. His wife said that she purchased clothing and infant supplies shortly afterwards.
The baby was turned over to Robinson's brother and sister-in-law, who were unable to have children. Robinson's brother's family members maintain that they had no idea the child had been kidnapped. She has been raised as Heather Robinson. DNA testing performed in November 2000 determined that Carl Stasi was her biological father.
Robinson was convicted of Lisa's murder and the murders of two additional women in Kansas in late October 2002. A jury recommended that he receive the death penalty for the other women's homicides, and life in prison for Lisa's murder. He is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of a former employee of Equi II, Catherine Clampitt, in addition to the disappearances of Lisa and Godfrey.
Lisa's remains have never been located.
Investigating Agency
Overland Park Police Department
913-344-8764
Other
The Kansas City Star
Mayhem.Net
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Lenexa Police Department
Court TV
Cable News Network
ABC News

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