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
Michael Darnell Bell Jr.
Bell, date, approximate 2011
Date Missing 09/17/2011
Missing From
Mendota, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Black
Date of Birth 01/26/1986 (36)
Age 25 years old
Height and Weight 6'0, 190 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white shirt, black pants, white sneakers and a dark-colored backpack.
Associated Vehicle(s) Blue 2002 Toyota Camry (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Bell has the following tattoos: his nickname "Mike" on one arm, his last name "Bell" on the other arm along with a list of his father's accomplishments, and the names "Ashawnta" and "Shekinah" on the tops of his wrists. His ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Bell was last seen in Mendota, California on September 17, 2011. At approximately 3:15 a.m., the car he was driving, his mother's blue 2002 Toyota Camry, ran out of gas on Interstate 5 near Russell Avenue, about four hours north of Los Angeles. A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer dropped him off at a Chevron gas station in the 46300 block of west Panoche Road near Mendota. He has never been heard from again.
Bell was supposed to take a trip to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, but he never arrived and didn't answer his family's repeated calls to his cellular phone. His loved ones checked his apartment in Los Angeles and found his phone and personal belongings there, and food in the microwave.
Bell and his mother's car were missing. His relatives reported him missing on September 22. The police found located his car abandoned where he'd left it when it ran out of gas.
Investigators aren't sure where Bell was going when he ran out of gas on the interstate, but he told the CHP officer he'd left a religious service he didn't like. He had gotten interested in the Church of Scientology and was studying it and reading about it, but as far as his family knows he wasn't attending any church regularly.
His loved ones stated it was uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning, and they describe him as good-hearted, giving and outgoing. He was starting a non-profit organization to establish group homes for homeless children, and planned to meet with others on the board of the organization during his upcoming visit to Cleveland.
Bell attended Michigan State University, where he played football. He left behind a young son. Both Fresno County and Los Angeles police are investigating Bell's ; it remains unsolved the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear.
Investigating Agency
Los Angeles Police Department
213-996-1800
Fresno County Sheriff's Office
559-488-3111
Other
California Attorney General's Office
KFSN
KMPH Fox 26
The Fresno Bee
KTLA
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
