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
Beverly E. Sharpman
Beverly, date, approximate 1947
Date Missing 09/11/1947
Missing From
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Runaway
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/10/1930 (91)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'3, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray or brown suit/dress, flesh-colored stockings, brown or black shoes, and earrings.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Beverly's nickname is Babe.
Details of Disappearance Beverly was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1947. The day before her disappearance, she appeared to be troubled and told her mother she had something to tell her. She then changed her mind and decided not to confide in her mother, and her mother did not press her about it. Beverly went to Overbrook High School to register for her senior year classes the next day, then vanished. She was last seen carrying a suit at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station at 24th and Chestnut Streets. That same evening, she sent a telegram to her parents reading: "Got married. Leaving town. Will not be back. Don't worry. Babe." Authorities discovered Beverly had withdrawn $173 from her savings account, quit her clerking job, and told her coworkers she was going to Chicago, Illinois. Investigators checked marriage license bureaus in all states, but did not find evidence that Beverly married as she said in her telegram. In addition, her loved ones stated she was not dating anyone at the time of her disappearance. There were many reported sightings of Beverly in cities all over the United States after September 1947, but none of the accounts were confirmed. Her parents published advertisements in newspapers appealing for her to contact them, but she never did. One theory is that she ran away because of an illegitimate pregnancy, which carried a heavy social stigma in the 1940s, but there is no evidence to support this. It is highly unusual for a teen runaway to vanish completely and never contact any of her loved ones again, as Beverly apparently did. Beverly's parents are both deceased. Her disappearance has never been closed and it remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Philadelphia Police Department
215-685-3252
Other
The Philadelphia Daily News
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Doe Network
NamUs
Find a Grave
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