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.



Missing Person Photos

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

Betty Fran Smith
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
Betty, date, approximate 1991; John David Smith III; Janice Hartman Smith, date, approximate 1970s; Unidentified women found in John's photo collection
Date Missing 10/04/1991
Missing From
West Windsor Township, New Jersey
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 08/04/1942 (80)
Age 49 years old
Height and Weight 5'2, 100 - 115 pounds
Medical Conditions Betty was recovering from a broken right hip at the time of her October 1991 disappearance. A pin had been surgically inserted to repair the bone.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Betty has a scar on her left knee and a hysterectomy scar on her abdomen. Betty's upper front teeth had been replaced by temporary caps, which were slightly yellowed at the time of her 1991 disappearance. She broke her right hip in 1990 and has a pin implanted there a result. She does not have a bone in her right foot's little toe. Betty goes by her middle name, Fran. Her last name prior to her 1990 marriage was Gladden. Betty has breast implants.
Details of Disappearance Betty was married to John David Smith III at the time of her 1991 disappearance. The couple met in Betty's native Niceville, Florida in 1990 and married that same year. A photo of John is posted with this summary. He filed for divorce from Betty in January 1991, but the couple reconciled in May and moved to New Jersey. Betty's family told authorities that John had seemed to be mild-mannered prior to Betty's disappearance, but they later learned he was abusive towards his wife.
Betty called her daughter at approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 4, 1991 from the couple's West Windsor Township, New Jersey residence. Betty gave no indication that anything was amiss and did not mention any travel plans. She was recovering from a broken hip at the time, which would have made traveling difficult. Betty has never been seen or heard from again.
John told Betty's family that he believed she went on an impromptu trip. Her relatives did not believe this claim and began to investigate her disappearance themselves. They learned that John had previously been married to Janice Hartman Smith from 1970 to 1974, while he initially told Betty's family that their marriage was his first.
Janice vanished from Ohio in November 1974, just days after her divorce from John had been finalized. John reported Janice as a missing person two days later. Janice's remained unsolved until 2000. her photo is posted with this summary.
John was never charged in connection with either of his wives' disappearances in the 1990s and moved to California after Betty vanished. He married for a third time in 1998. Janice's remains were located in an Indiana roadside ditch in 1980, six years after she was last seen. Her legs had been cut off below the knees. She was not identified until 2000.
John, who had by then moved to California, was charged with aggravated murder in Janice's in the fall of 2000. His third wife initially supported him, but filed for divorce and a restraining order shortly before his arrest. She learned about John's abusive background and also cited the murder of his first wife and unsolved disappearance of his second spouse.
John was found guilty of Janice's murder in 2001; the jury rejected the aggravated murder charge and convicted him of simple murder instead. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and is currently incarcerated in Ohio.
Foul play is suspected in Betty's disappearance due to the circumstances involved. John is not charged in her , but he was found liable for her wrongful death in a civil suit in 2002 and was ordered to pay $1 million to her family. Betty has never been located. It is unlikely that her family will be able to collect on the civil action.
The FBI is attempting to identify two women pictured in photographs found in John's collection at the time of his 2000 arrest. Investigators would like to ascertain the women's whereabouts, given John's history. Their photos are posted with this summary.
Investigating Agency
West Windsor Township Police Department
609-799-1212
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
ABC News
New Jersey State Police
NamUs
The Akron Beacon Journal
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Star-Ledger
Voice for the Missing

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.



Missing Person Photos

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