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
Melissa Ann Espinoza
Melissa, date, approximate 1993; Age-progression to age 35 (date, approximate 2016)
Date Missing 12/02/1993
Missing From
Rancho Cordova, California
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 09/23/1981 (41)
Age 12 years old
Height and Weight 5'1, 125 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A black Chicago Bulls jacket, a black low-cut blouse, black pants and black low-top Nike sneakers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Melissa's hair was permed at the time of her 1993 disappearance, and she usually wore it tied in a ponytail and slicked back with gel. She has a a heart encircling the letter "M" carved near the thumb of one of her hands, scars on both knees and a one-inch scar on her chin.
Details of Disappearance Melissa was last seen in her hometown of Rancho Cordova, California on December 2, 1993. She had an argument with her mother at 11:00 p.m. on December 1 and left the house angry. At 3:00 a.m., she was seen sitting on a car hood in the parking lot of an apartment complex on White Rock Road.
Melissa and her family had lived in the complex before January 1993, when there was a fire and they moved. The area around the White Rock Road complex was frequented by pimps and drug dealers in 1993 and was considered dangerous.
Melissa's parents are divorced. She had lived with her father and two older siblings in Sacramento, California in 1993, but moved in with her mother and younger brother a month before her disappearance. She has a history of running away after arguments, but had always returned within a short time.
Melissa was close to her brother at the time of her disappearance; he says she would have never been gone this long without contacting him. She also called her grandmother daily.
Melissa's brother stated he saw some suspicious people near her apartment in the days prior to her disappearance, and he believes they may have been involved in her . No one has been charged in connection with her disappearance, however, and no one is named as a suspect.
Due to the lack of clues in Melissa's , it is classified as a non-family abduction. She is considered to be missing under suspicious circumstances and foul play is suspected in her disappearance.
Investigating Agency
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
916-874-5115
916-874-5467
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Polly Klaas Foundation
The Sacramento Bee
California Attorney General's Office
NamUs
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
