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

Ben Charles Padilla Jr.




Padilla, date, approximate 2003; Airplane similar to the missing plane
Date Missing 05/25/2003
Missing From
Luanda, Angola
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Age 50 years old
Height and Weight 6'2, unknown weight
Associated Vehicle(s) Boeing 200 series 727 airplane with a tail number of N844AA, and a serial number of 20985, unpainted silver in color with a stripe of blue, white, and blue
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Padilla, a U.S. citizen from Pensacola, Florida, was overseeing rebuilding work on a Boeing 727 airplane at the DeFevereiro International Airport in Angola in 2003. The plane had been there for two years. Padilla had been working there for two months; his duties included supervising the team of mechanics. He was also going to hire a pilot and co-pilot once the plane was in flyable condition.
Padilla is a licensed aircraft mechanic, flight engineer, and pilot of small airplanes, but he is not licensed to fly a 727 and has never flown a plane that large. He was going to be the flight engineer when it took to the air. The company that owned the plane was going to repossess it from Air Angola, which had failed to make its lease payments, and fly it to South Africa.
Maury Joseph, the president Aerospace Sales & Leasing Co. which owned the plane, visited the site two weeks before Padilla disappeared to see how things were going. He gave Padilla $43,000 to pay holding fees to the airport. He paid the fees and faxed the receipt to Joseph.
On May 25, 2003, at approximately 6:00 p.m., the 727 took off without clearance or a flight plan, and has not been seen since. A photograph of a plane similar to the missing one is posted with this summary. It is described as a 28-year-old 200 series 727 with a tail number of N844AA, and a serial number of 20985, unpainted silver in color with a stripe of blue, white, and blue.
The plane was formerly in the American Airlines passenger air fleet, but all of the passenger seats have been removed and replaced with fuel containers. The plane was outfitted to carry diesel fuel and had taken on 14,000 gallons of A-1 jet fuel shortly before it departed.
Padilla disappeared at the same time as the plane and is believed to have been on it when it took off. John Mikel Mutantu, another crew member from the Congo, is also believed to have been on the plane. Further information about Mutantu is unavailable.
The plane may have originally been headed in the direction of Burkina Faso. Its last radio contact was to ask for landing permission in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean east of Africa. The plane never actually attempted to land there.
Padilla's brother believes he did not leave voluntarily and that the plane may have been hijacked by terrorists. He claims that he and Padilla discussed the possibility that this might happen, and Padilla said he would crash the plane rather than fly it anywhere against his will. Based on his memory of this conversation, Padilla's brother believes he was either killed or is being held prisoner somewhere.
Joseph agrees with this theory; he does not think Padilla stole the plane either. He doesn't have a history of criminal behavior. It is worth noting, however, that Joseph himself has been convicted of forging documents and defrauding investors by exaggerating the profits of another company he ran. American authorities believe that the plane was stolen as part of a financial scam or possibly a business dispute.
Three American agencies, the FBI, NSA, and CIA, , are all looking for Padilla, Mutantu, and the plane. The United Kingdom and several African nations are also searching. In the summer of 2003, a plane was found in Papua New Guinea, and rumors spread that it was the missing 727, but this turned out not to be the .
Padilla and Mutantu's s remain unsolved. The circumstances surrounding their disappearances are unclear. Missing Person Photos is profiling Padilla because of his United States citizenship.
Investigating Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
Federal Bureau of Investigation
America One & Patriot Special Shape Hot Air Balloons
Freedom of Thought
The Washington Post
The Search for a Missing 727 Goes On
World News Bulletin
FOX 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 Case Updates with Photos