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

Dorothy Jeanne Pitcher


Dorothy, date, approximate 1993
Date Missing 05/23/1993
Missing From
Sunizona, Arizona
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 09/24/1945 (77)
Age 47 years old
Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'3, 145 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white short outfit with a duck design.
Associated Vehicle(s) Old van with Colorado license plates
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Dorothy wears eyeglasses and dentures, but both of them were left behind.
Details of Disappearance Dorothy attended church on the morning of May 23, 1993 and afterwards walked to The RV Park Store on the corner of Highway 666 (now called Highway 191) and Highway 181 in Sunizona, Arizona. She was accompanied by her daughter, Danielle Pitcher, at the time.
Along their route they stopped at the residence of one of Dorothy's daughters and invited her to walk with them. She declined, but invited them to dinner after they finished their errand.
Danielle and Dorothy arrived at the store to purchase cigarettes for Dorothy's husband. It has been established that the women also purchased ice cream cones and made a call from the store's pay phone before departing for their residence, which was located approximately three miles from The RV Park Store. The Pitchers' home didn't have a phone.
They were last seen by friends who drove past the Pitchers on their route home. There may have been an old van with Colorado license plates nearby. Neither Danielle nor her mother have been seen again. They left all their belongings behind at home, including Dorothy's dentures, eyeglasses, purse and driver's license.
Search dogs picked up the Pitchers' scents at the store and approximately one and a half miles into their route home along the highway. The scent disappeared close to the road; a vehicle may have picked them up at that location. There was no other indication of Danielle and Dorothy's whereabouts.
John Pitcher, Dorothy's husband of 27 years, was ruled out as a suspect after he passed a polygraph.
The police investigated a Flint, Michigan man whom Dorothy had had an affair with while he was in Arizona, but he had moved back to Flint by the time Dorothy and Danielle disappeared, surveillance conducted at his residence showed no indication that the Pitchers were there, and he told police he hadn't heard from Dorothy recently.
Dorothy's children said they didn't think their mother would have run away with another man without letting the family know. Investigators stated they had two suspects in the Pitchers' disappearances, neither of whom have been publicly named.
John and Dorothy had fourteen children in all at the time of the Pitchers' disappearances, two of whom were from John's earlier marriage. Six of the children, including Danielle, were still living at home by 1993. John died in 1998, but Dorothy's children continue to search for her and Danielle.
The Pitchers' s remain open and unsolved. Foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency
Cochise County Sheriff's Office
520-432-9500
Other
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Missing Pitchers
NamUs
Missing Without a Trace
Unsolved in the News
KOLD News 13
The Arizona Republic

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