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
Marsha Ellen Brantley
Marsha, date, approximate 2009; Donnie Ray Brantley
Date Missing 05/15/2009
Missing From
Cleveland, Tennessee
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 02/28/1959 (63)
Age 51 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 125 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Marsha's maiden name is Rader and some accounts refer to her as Marsha Rader Brantley.
Details of Disappearance Marsha was last seen in Cleveland, Tennessee sometime in late May or early June 2009. She lived with her husband of nine years and three dogs in the Benwood subdivision of Cleveland at the time of her disappearance. Her parents are deceased and she has no children.
A friend reported Marsha missing in November 2009, after months without contact. When questioned by police, her husband, Donnie Ray Brantley, stated she had simply left him and they planned to get a divorce. Investigators searched her home for evidence, but didn't find anything.
Prior to her disappearance, Marsha enjoyed spending time in an RV she owned in Townsend, Tennessee. Authorities were unable to find the RV until November 2012, when it turned up on property owned by Donnie's family. Donnie was arrested at that time and charged with hindering a creditor; authorities believe he was hiding the vehicle to keep it from being repossessed.
In August 2013, Donnie was additionally charged with Marsha's murder. A photo of him is posted with this summary. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence in 2014, but Donnie was charged with murder again in December 2016. The prosecution dropped the again in February 2018, but the charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning Donnie could be charged a third time if more evidence surfaces.
Marsha previously worked for Lee University. She enjoys hiking and other outdoor pursuits, and she is an award-winning writer. She is childless, her parents died in 2000, and she wasn't close to any of her blood relatives; it wasn't for several months that her aunt in North Carolina found out she had disappeared.
Although her body has never been found, foul play is suspected in Marsha's due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
800-824-3463
Other
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
The Chattanooga Writers Guild
News Channel 9
The Cleveland Daily Banner
The Knoxville Writers Guild
Marsha Brantley's Blog
Facebook Page for Marsha Brantley
Project Jason
The Times Free Press
CBS 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
