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 Case Updates with Photos

Aaron Cody Stepp








Aaron at age 17 months (date, approximate February 1994; more recent photos are unavailable); Age-progression to age 27 (date, approximate 2020)
Date Missing 03/11/1997
Missing From
Columbus, Ohio
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 09/24/1993 (29)
Age 3 years old
Height and Weight 3'2, 39 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A red jacket, blue sweatpants and black and white high-top sneakers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Aaron goes by his middle name, Cody, and most accounts refer to him by that name.
Details of Disappearance Cody was reportedly last seen playing in a neighbor's backyard on Hosack Street in Columbus, Ohio at approximately 7:00 p.m. on March 11, 1997. He has never been heard from again.
Cody vanished the day before his mother, Robyn Yvonne Stepp, was released from prison. She served 17 months for two theft convictions. She has a history of drug use and prostitution. Robyn's sister, Mickey Stepp, had had physical custody of Cody since January 1994 and custody since December 1996.
Mickey told authorities that she believed Cody's maternal grandmother, Janice Stiles, was supervising him while she went to the store. Stiles claimed that she thought Cody accompanied Mickey on the errand, but in fact Cody went to play in a neighbor's backyard and disappeared.
Robyn attempted to have her son declared ly deceased in 1998, approximately 17 months after he was reported missing. She claimed that Mickey and Stiles withheld information regarding Aaron's disappearance. Several family members testified that they had not seen the child for several months prior to March 1997.
Mickey and Stiles denied allegations that they allowed Cody to be removed from their home in order to receive il monthly welfare benefits of $279. One of Stiles's children testified that she physically abused her children in the past.
Stiles's two-year-old daughter died in 1964. The cause of death was listed as bronchitis, but numerous burns were found on the child's body. Authorities closed the without filing charges against anyone.
Investigators were unable to locate evidence suggesting Cody even resided with Mickey and Stiles after he was reported missing. Authorities said that there was no clothing, toys or photos connected to the child inside the home, and neighbors stated they had not seen Cody for about a year prior to his reported disappearance.
Robyn testified that she saw Cody for the final time on December 18, 1995. She claimed that her mother and sister refused to allow her to speak to her son when she called from prison. In February 1997, Mickey took a toddler to get vaccinated and told the nurse he was Cody, but the nurse later said the child wasn't Cody. The nurse identified another boy as the child who was used to impersonate Cody during the vaccination appointment.
Investigators testified that they suspected foul play was involved in Cody's , but could not produce evidence to support the theory. The judge refused to declare the child ly deceased due to the inconclusive nature of his .
There was an unconfirmed sighting of Cody in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1997, four months after he disappeared. The witness reportedly saw a child fitting Cody's description between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. at DeFluri's Restaurant on Benner Pike.
The child was accompanied by two unidentified adult females and two other children at the time. One of the women was described as a Caucasian female with medium-length dark hair. She was approximately 30 to 40 years old and 130 pounds.
The second female was described as being of Asian or Pacific Islander descent with very short dark hair. She was in her late teens or early twenties and wore dark-framed eyeglasses and full-length jeans or denim shorts. The people spotted in the restaurant have never been identified, including the children.
Mickey died of natural causes in 2004. She maintained her innocence in her nephew's until the end.
Authorities are uncertain what happened to Cody, and have stated they do not necessarily believe he is deceased. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Columbus Police Department
614-645-4670
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Columbus Police Department
The Digital Collegian
America's Most Wanted
Heaven's Littlest Angels
Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse
The Columbus Dispatch
WBS-10 TV

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 Case Updates with Photos