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
Chester Ralph Wetmore
Chester, date, approximate 1986; James Barnes
Date Missing 05/26/1986
Missing From
Bradenton, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 08/21/1971 (51)
Age 14 years old
Height and Weight 6'0, 145 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Jeans, a blue checkered shirt and boots.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Chester was last seen leaving his family's residence in Bradenton, Florida during the evening hours of May 26, 1986. He has never been heard from again.
James P. Barnes, a death row inmate in Florida, confessed to Chester's murder in the first episode of Werner Herzog's documentary miniseries, On Death Row, in 2012. A photo of Barnes is posted with this summary. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Patricia Miller; he was already serving a life sentence for the murder of his estranged wife when he confessed to Miller's murder.
Six weeks after his first interview with Herzog, Barnes wrote Herzog a letter confessing to killing and burying Chester. He also confessed to the unsolved 1990 murder of Brenda Joyce Fletcher, correctly identifying the place where her body had been found. He has never been charged in either , however, and is still awaiting execution.
Some agencies may list September 17, 1989 or May 27, 1986 as the date of Chester's disappearance. Some may classify his as that of an endangered runaway.
Investigating Agency
Manatee County Sheriff's Department
941-741-3248
941-747-3011
Other
Child Protection Education of America
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Florida Department of Corrections
On Death Row
Brevard County Sheriff's Office
NamUs
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