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
Maria C. Procopio
Procopio, date, approximate 1999; Procopio's ring; Andrew Thomas
Date Missing 09/24/1999
Missing From
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 10/01/1964 (58)
Age 34 years old
Height and Weight 5'3 - 5'4, 129 - 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gold ring with marquise-, round- and baguette-cut diamonds with a total weight of one carat. A picture of the ring is posted with this summary.
Associated Vehicle(s) Red 1990 Pontiac Sunbird coupe (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Procopio left work at QVC, where she was an accounts receivable specialist, in West Chester, Pennsylvania at approximately 5:10 p.m. on September 24, 1999. She told her coworkers she was planning to meet someone after work.
She was last seen near the Newton Shopping Center in the vicinity of Route 3 and Route 252 at approximately 7:00 p.m. that day. She never arrived home and has never been heard from again. She was reported missing by her sister on October 5.
Procopio's vehicle, a red 1990 Pontiac Sunbird coupe, was located behind Chick's Tavern in the 200 block of Front Street in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania on October 7, two weeks after Procopio disappeared. It was ly parked, the anti-theft device was in place, and the driver's seat was adjusted to Procopio's height. It had been wiped completely clean of fingerprints.
After Procopio's disappearance, authorities discovered that she had been secretly working as a dominatrix, using the name Mistress Maria. She had her own 900 number and hundreds of clients. Her family and friends knew nothing about it. It is unclear what, if anything, the dominatrix work has to do with her disappearance.
Procopio's loved ones believe her boyfriend, Andrew Charles Thomas, physically abused her prior to her disappearance, but this has not been confirmed. Procopio was the one who had tipped authorities off to his criminal activities, just days before she disappeared.
When police searched Thomas's apartment for evidence in her , they found counterfeit cash, night-vision equipment and fake identification. He was found guilty of welfare fraud and counterfeiting after Procopio vanished and sentenced to prison.
In September 2012, Thomas committed suicide after fatally shooting a police officer in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania. Although he maintained his innocence in Procopio's disappearance to the end, he was and is the prime suspect in her presumed murder. A photograph of Thomas is posted with this summary.
Procopio resided in the 2400 block of south Opal Street in Philadelphia at the time of her disappearance, and frequented West Chester and Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. She was declared ly dead in 2006.
Investigating Agency
Philadelphia Police Department
215-685-1751
Other
NamUs
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Daily News
CBS 3
Unsolved in the News
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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
