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

David Wayne Waggoner


Waggoner, date, approximate 1971
Date Missing 10/09/1971
Missing From
Pasadena, Texas
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 11/11/1947 (74)
Age 23 years old
Height and Weight 5'9, 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A watch. Clothing unknown, but he usually wore dress shirts and slacks or blue jeans.
Associated Vehicle(s) Red Honda 350 motorcycle (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Black hair, brown eyes. Waggoner has small vertical scars on both of his cheeks and a horizontal scar on his chin. He wore dark-rimmed eyeglasses at the time of his 1971 disappearance. He broke his collarbone once and fractured his skull twice in motorcycle accidents prior to his disappearance. Waggoner is slightly deaf in his left ear.
Details of Disappearance Waggoner last spoke to his family on October 9, 1971 from Pasadena, Texas. He has never been heard from again. He apparently took with him only his wallet and a .9 millimeter pistol. His car, with the key in the ignition, was found parked in front of his apartment on Lafferty Street in Pasadena, and some clothes, Waggoner's suit, and a small amount of money were left inside his home.
A hunter located Waggoner's red Honda 350 motorcycle in the woods off U. S. Highway 59 in Cold Springs, Texas, seventy miles north of Houston, Texas, approximately two weeks after his initial disappearance. His helmet was sitting on top of it. There has been no trace of Waggoner since that time.
Waggoner's family believes he may have been accosted by James C. "Humpy" Parker, then the sheriff of San Jacinto County, Texas. James and two of his deputies went to prison for detaining and torturing young men they met on U.S. Highway 59 during the 1970s and early 1980s. In particular, they liked to target "hippies," African-American men, motorcyclists, and men with bumper stickers advertising rock stations.
They were caught in 1983 and each received a ten-year prison sentence. James and his son Gary, a reserve deputy with the department, also faced federal charges for arresting motorists on trumped-up charges to extort bail money from them.
James's crimes became the subject of a book and movie, Terror on Highway 59 by Steve Sellers. He and his accomplices have not been linked to Waggoner's , however. James died in federal prison in 1999. Gary was eventually released, but he was charged with burglary and aggravated kidnapping in 2008.
Waggoner served four years in the United States Marines. He was unemployed at the time of his disappearance; he quit his last job several weeks before he went missing because it bored him. He was close to his parents, who lived nearby, and his sister, and his loved ones do not believe he would have left without warning. They also stated he was not depressed or suicidal in 1971.
Waggoner's parents are now deceased, but his sister is still searching for him. Authorities believe he may have been taken against his will.
Investigating Agency
Pasadena Police Department
713-477-1221
Other
Child Protection Education of America
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Doe Network
The Houston Chronicle
The East Texas News
The Miami Herald
Facebook Page for David Waggoner

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