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

Claudia Ann Kirschhoch






Kirschhoch, date, approximate 2000
Date Missing 05/27/2000
Missing From
Negril, Jamaica
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 02/09/1971 (51)
Age 29 years old
Height and Weight 5'2, 105 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A multi-colored blue bikini and a t-shirt. Carrying a portable radio.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Kirschhoch has a tattoo of a phoenix on her right hip.
Details of Disappearance Kirschhoch was an assistant editor for Frommer's Travel Guides in New York City, New York and resided in the borough of Queens. She was chosen to participate in a travel junket to the new Sandals resort in Havana, Cuba on May 24, 2000.
Kirschhoch flew to Montego Bay, Jamaica with three other travel journalists on that day. The group was then scheduled to fly to Havana, but then they learned they would not be allowed entry into Cuba. All flights back to New York were booked through June 1 and Kirschhoch was re-routed to the Sandals Beaches Resort in Negril, Jamaica with another travel writer, Tania Grossinger, on May 25.
Grossinger told authorities that Kirschhoch became friends with one of the resort's bartenders, Anthony Grant, during their stay. Grossinger was able to arrange a last-minute flight out of Negril to New York during the morning of May 27, 2000. She and Kirschhoch met for breakfast prior to Grossinger's departure.
Kirschhoch planned to stay at the resort until more flights to the United States became available. She was last seen by a Sandals Beaches resort lifeguard as she walked along the beach later that afternoon. She has never been heard from again.
Kirschhoch's parents became concerned when they failed to contact their daughter by June 2. They called Frommer's Travel Guides' offices in New York City and learned that she never returned to work.
An investigation was initiated in Negril and all of Kirschhoch's personal belongings were discovered in her hotel room. The only items missing were her bikini, t-shirt and radio -- the same possessions she was seen wearing on the beach on May 27. Her passport, return plane ticket, $180 cash, credit and ATM cards, camera, cellular phone and clothing were located in her room.
Kirschhoch's belongings were reportedly taken to the Sandals Beaches Resort manager's office and her hotel room was rented out to other guests, possibly contaminating a potential crime scene. Her cellular phone disappeared shortly thereafter, as did the log book that recorded all vehicles' license plate numbers that entered and exited the resort.
A security camera videotape near Kirschhoch's hotel room was inadvertently recorded over after her disappearance as well. The resort developed the film in her camera after her disappearance, but reported that there were no photos on it.
Authorities learned that Grant called in sick on May 28, the day after Kirschhoch was last seen. He remained out of work for four days. The FBI began its own investigation along with Negril authorities and discovered a strand of Kirschhoch's hair in the back seat of Grant's white Toyota Corolla. A search dog traced her scent to the trunk of the car, as well as a pair of Grant's boots and gloves at his residence.
DNA testing conducted on the items proved to be inconclusive. A small amount of blood was discovered on the blade of a knife inside Grant's home, but it was too small to merit additional analysis.
Grant agreed to a polygraph test after Kirschhoch disappeared, but the results were also inconclusive. Authorities do not consider him a suspect in her , but her parents believe that he may know what happened to their daughter.
The Jamaican press portrayed Kirschhoch as an adventure-seeker who was probably responsible for her own fate after her disappearance in 2000. Her loved ones have stated that this description of Kirschhoch is inaccurate and that she prepared herself before venturing to different locales.
Numerous sightings of Kirschhoch were reported in Jamaican villages after her initial disappearance, but investigators have been unable to confirm any of the reports.
Kirschhoch's family has alleged that Sandals Beaches Resort employees impeded the investigation into their daughter's disappearance and that they probably know what happened to her. Her family filed a lawsuit against them for willfully destroying evidence and causing emotional stress in 2002.
Many American journalists covered Kirschhoch's in 2000 and reported that criminal activity was occasionally widespread in Jamaica and recommended that potential visitors plan their stays accordingly. Her family said the Jamaican police did not cooperate with them and would not let them examine the investigative file.
Kirschhoch was declared ly dead in May 2002. A judge ruled that it was unlikely she disappeared of her own accord. Her remains unsolved. Both American and Jamaican authorities are investigating.
Investigating Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Florida Office
305-944-9101
Negril Police Department
888-991-4000
Other
Unsolved Mysteries
NamUs
Missing Person: Claudia Kirschhoch
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Online
The Los Angeles Times
ABC News
The Associated Press
The Miami Herald

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