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 Lou Japel
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
Japel, date, approximate 2007; Kenneth Miller; Gregory Cole
Date Missing 01/01/2006
Missing From
Quartzsite, Arizona
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 69 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 140 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) 25-foot 1976 Sportscoach motor home (accounted for), Black and silver Dodge Ram pickup truck (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair.
Details of Disappearance Japel disappeared with her 73-year-old boyfriend, Kenneth William Miller. Both are originally from McMinnville, Oregon, but they went missing from Quartzsite, Arizona. A photograph of Miller is posted with this summary.
The couple led a nomadic lifestyle and traveled frequently in their 25-foot 1976 Sportscoach motor home and black and silver Dodge Ram pickup truck. They would be out of touch with their families for months at a time as a result. The exact date of their disappearances is unknown.
Japel and Miller's motor home was found abandoned in a remote area near Redmond, Oregon in mid-2006. Their truck was found in Montana. The last activity on their bank accounts was in June 2006. Japel and Miller were last known to be in the company of a friend, Gregory Allen "Groundhog" Cole. A photograph of Cole is posted with this summary.
On May 17, 2007, Cole shot a police officer in Quartzsite. The officer was wearing a protective vest and survived the shooting, although he was hit seven times. Cole was already wanted on other, unrelated felony charges and authorities started a manhunt for him. Because Japel and Miller were missing and were last known to have been with him, there was concern for their safety.
Cole's body was found in the Arizona desert, twenty miles from the Mexican border, on May 23. He had shot himself to death. The license plates on his motor home had been taken off Japel and Miller's pickup truck.
In June 2007, authorities searched the area where the missing couple's motor home had been found last year. They found Miller's body buried in a shallow grave there. There was no sign of Japel, however, and she has never been heard from again. She and Miller never married, but they had been together for about thirty years prior to her disappearance and his death.
Authorities believe Cole probably murdered both Miller and Japel, and they are searching for Japel's remains. Her remains unsolved. Both Oregon and Arizona police are investigating.
Investigating Agency
Quartzsite, Arizona Police Department
877-926-8332
McMinnville, Oregon Police Department
503-434-6500
Other
America's Most Wanted
Salem News
The Oregonian

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