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

Darrel Wayne Kempf


Kempf, date, approximate 2007
Date Missing 01/28/2007
Missing From
Pacific County, Washington
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/13/1958 (64)
Age 48 years old
Height and Weight 6'0, 250 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, blue eyes. Kempf has a tattoo on his left arm. He had a mustache at the time of his disappearance. He was born in Bolivia, carries a Bolivian passport, and speaks Spanish in addition to English.
Details of Disappearance Kempf was last seen at 8:45 p.m. on January 28, 2007. He left North Cove, Washington en route to his home in Graham, Washington, driving his blue Plymouth Voyager van. He never arrived home. He was reported missing the next day.
On the afternoon of January 29, the same day he was reported missing, Kempf's van was located at a remote beach on State Route 105 just north of the Shoalwater Indian Reservation in North Cove. The vehicle had run off the road, flipped over and landed on its roof.
There was no indication of Kempf's whereabouts at the scene, and no sign that anyone had been injured in the accident, but a belt was found tied to the van's steering wheel. Dogs traced a short scent trail on the road above, but lost it quickly.
Kempf ran a used-car business, Triad Marketing, at the time of his disappearance. A few days after he went missing, his family received a letter. It had supposedly been mailed by a friend Kempf had met in the Army, who had agreed to mail it if Kempf ever disappeared.
The letter explained Kempf's that business had run into financial trouble and he had borrowed money from loan sharks, he could not pay them, and he was afraid. The writer said if his family was reading the letter, Kempf was probably deceased.
Kempf had borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the finance companies for his business prior to going missing, and he may have owed as much as $3 million altogether. After he vanished, many of the cars in his lot disappeared, and he came under investigation for possible fraud.
In May 2007, the state Department of Licensing announced they had proof that Kempf had intentionally defrauded people dozens of times. His alleged scheme involved accepting a car for a consignment sale, using the title to get a loan from a finance company, then selling the car to a third party and keeping the money.
There is speculation that Kempf is alive and well and simply fled the area to escape his financial troubles. He was born in Bolivia of missionary parents and grew up in that country. He may be in Bolivia or somewhere else in South America. His disappearance is still considered a missing persons and remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Pacific County Sheriff's Office
360-875-9396
Other
Washington State Missing Persons
KOMO TV
Pacific County Sheriff's Office
KATU News
The News Tribune

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