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 Suzanne Highsmith
Melissa, date, approximate 1971; Age-progression to age 51 (date, approximate 2020); Suspect sketch
Date Missing 08/23/1971
Missing From
Fort Worth, Texas
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 11/06/1969 (52)
Age 1 year old
Height and Weight 2'8, 27 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown/hazel eyes. Melissa has a three-inch red-colored birthmark on her back, just below her neck.
Details of Disappearance Melissa's mother, Alta Highsmith, advertised for a babysitter for her in August of 1971. At 7:30 a.m. on August 23, a woman who called herself "Ruth Johnson" answered the ad.
Johnson and Alta made plans to meet each other at Alta's place of work, but Johnson did not arrive. She called Alta later, and was hired sight unseen. She stated she had a nice house with a large backyard and cared for other children.
Johnson went to Alta and Melissa's apartment at Spanish Gate Apartments on on east Seminary Drive in south Fort Worth, Texas at 7:30 a.m. on August 23. Alta had already left for work, and Johnson met Alta's roommate instead. The roommate stated Johnson was well-dressed and wore white gloves.
Johnson took away Melissa, some diapers and Melissa's pink dress and white sandals. When she did not return Melissa by 8:00 p.m. that day, Alta contacted the police.
A sketch of the babysitter is posted with this summary. She has never been identified and Ruth Johnson was probably not her real name. Authorities believed the baby was taken by someone who wanted to raise a child, but this theory has never been proven.
Both of Melissa's parents were investigated in their daughter's disappearance. They were divorced in 1971 and the child's father lived in Illinois. They subsequently reconciled and had three additional children before separating again in 1998.
No serious leads have ever been developed in Melissa's abduction, but the was reopened in late 2005 at the request of her sister. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Fort Worth Police Department
817-335-4222
Other
Texas Department of Public Safety
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Dallas Morning 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
