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

Danyel Lou Sparpana







Danyel, date, approximate 1985; Age-progression to age 29 (date, approximate 2011)
Date Missing 11/02/1985
Missing From
West Sacramento, California
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/23/1982 (40)
Age 3 years old
Height and Weight 3'0 - 3'1, 38 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly a light blue nylon coat with white fur trim.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Danyel has a rust-colored birthmark on her kneecap, approximately one inch by two inches in size. Her ears are pierced, and her hair was cut short at the time of her November 1985 disappearance.
Details of Disappearance Danyel was last seen inside her family's residence in the 1900 block of Manzanita Way in West Sacramento, California on November 2, 1985.
Her mother, Cynthia Mullennix Sparpana, was found deceased by police inside the residence on November 5; she had been dead for two or three days. Cynthia was the victim of a violent homicide; she had been beaten and shot in the back of the head.
None of Danyel's belongings were missing from their home, except for her coat; she may have been wearing it when she disappeared. There were reported sightings of her wandering around the neighborhood between the time her mother was killed and the time the body was discovered. She has never been heard from again.
Lionel Ernest Tholmer Jr. was named as the prime suspect in the Sparpanas' s shortly afterwards. He had been an acquaintance of the family and sometime boyfriend of Cynthia's.
Authorities believed that Tholmer was also responsible for the November 1985 slaying of California resident John B. Meadows. Meadows was Tholmer's ex-wife's stepfather and investigators believe Tholmer wanted to frame him for Cynthia's murder.
Tholmer resided in Georgia, but returned to the Sacramento area to work at McClellan Air Force Base in the mid-1980s. He was convicted of Meadows's murder in 1987 and was serving a life sentence for that when he was charged with Cynthia and Danyel's murders.
At his trial, Tholmer's lawyers argued that he was innocent of Cynthia's murder and that Danyel had not been murdered at all. There have been unconfirmed sightings of her since her mother's death. Tholmer was convicted of the Sparpanas' murders in November 1992. He was originally sentenced to death, but the sentence was reduced to life in prison without parole.
Danyel's remains have never been located. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Some agencies may list November 5, 1985, the date her mother's body was found, as the date of Danyel's disappearance.
Investigating Agency
West Sacramento Police Department
916-375-6474
Other
California Attorney General's Office
Operation Lookout
The Sacramento Bee
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
UC Davis School of Law
Find a Grave
The Shreveport Times
The Myrtle Beach Sun News

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