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

Bruce Blackwood



Blackwood, date, approximate 2006; Luis Perez, date, approximate 2015
Date Missing 03/04/2006
Missing From
Queens, New York
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Black
Age 55 years old
Height and Weight 6'3, 200 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Cadillac SRX (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Gray hair, hazel eyes. Blackwood may have a mustache.
Details of Disappearance Blackwood was last seen in the vicinity of 194th Street in the New York City borough of Queens at 3:00 p.m. on March 4, 2006. He called in sick that day only a few minutes before he was due to arrive at work, which is uncharacteristic of him. That same day, the police found his Cadillac SRX parked in front of a building he owned in the Bushwick area of the borough of Brooklyn. He has never been heard from again.
Three and a half months after Blackwood's disappearance, authorities charged Luis Perez and another suspect with cashing $7,700 worth of checks on Blackwood's account. Blackwood had hired Perez to help remodel one of his apartment buildings on Hancock Street and let him live in another building while he was working.
A few days before Blackwood disappeared, Perez went to his home and angrily demanded more money for his work. Their argument got so loud that Blackwood's neighbors called the police.
Perez was the last person to see Blackwood; Blackwood had gone to confront him about the checks thefts. Perez said Blackwood gave him the keys to his Cadillac, then got into a black car with a man known only as "Mike." Blackwood's family doesn't believe he would have done this, however, especially since Perez did not have driver's license.
Perez was convicted of the check thefts and served 25 months in prison. In 2011, he was charged with Blackwood's murder. A photo of him is posted with this summary. In recorded phone calls to his daughter, Perez said he'd killed Blackwood by breaking his neck inside a residence in the 900 block of Hancock Street, then dismembered his body with a saw and a machete. He was convicted in September 2015 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
As well as owning several apartment buildings, Blackwood worked with the Off-Track Betting Corporation as a restaurant supervisor at O'Neill's Restaurant in Maspeth, Queens; he'd held the position since 2004. Foul play is suspected in his due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
New York Police Department
212-473-2042
Other
NY 1
New York Police Department
The New York Daily News
The New York Post

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