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

Ember Skye Graham









Ember, date, approximate 2015; Age-progression to age 4 (date, approximate 2018); Matthew Graham; Matthew's pickup truck
Date Missing 07/02/2015
Missing From
Happy Valley, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/19/2014 (7)
Age 6 months old
Height and Weight 2'1, 15 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A size 2 Kirkland diaper.
Medical Conditions Ember has epilepsy and previously required hospitalization for seizures. She needs to take anti-seizure medication twice a day.
Associated Vehicle(s) Gray or black pickup truck (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Ember was last seen in Happy Valley, California on July 2, 2015. She has never been heard from again. She was with her father, Matthew Ryan Graham, the day she vanished; her mother was packing to move into her father's trailer.
Matthew told police he had left Ember asleep in her playpen at his home on Noosha Lane. He smoked marijuana all night and then passed out. When he woke up at 5:00 a.m., Ember was gone. He called 911 at 5:26 a.m. and reported she had been kidnapped.
A photo of Matthew is posted with this summary. The night he reported Ember missing, he was arrested for probation violation because of his drug use, but he was released a few days later.
Authorities stated his story about the night Ember disappeared was inconsistent, he didn't seem interested in finding her, and they couldn't find any "credible evidence" to support his claim that a stranger had abducted Ember.
Matthew kept Ember's playpen in a remote camp trailer on his property, which was gated and had guard dogs; furthermore, the door to the trailer was broken and it needed to be opened with a screwdriver. Matthew also stated Ember usually cried when a stranger picked her up.
These conditions would make it difficult or impossible for a stranger to get access to the residence and take the baby without waking Matthew. He admitted to having smoked marijuana that night, which was a violation of his probation and the reason he was arrested.
Surveillance video footage from a nearby convenience store, the Happy Stop Market showed Matthew driving there in his truck that night; Ember was with him and not fastened into a safety seat. He took her into the store, pumped gas and then drove away with her in the opposite direction from his home.
Matthew said he'd taken Ember on a drive to help her fall asleep; her anti-seizure medication made her restless. He said he made a U-turn to return home after leaving the store. The trip to and from the store should have taken less than ten minutes, but the surveillance video shows that Matthew didn't drive past it again until over an hour later.
A photo of Matthew's truck is posted with this summary; authorities have said that anyone who saw it on the night of July 1/2 should contact them. Matthew was publicly named as a person of interest in his daughter's disappearance.
On July 10, a pacifier was found off Platina Road in the remote Ono, California area. Ember's mother identified it was her daughter's, and DNA testing subsequently determined Ember's DNA was on the pacifier.
On July 11, Matthew stole his mother's cellular phone, some cash from her purse, and a semi-automatic handgun, and fled. Three days later, he was killed in a police shootout in Dunsmuir, California after he carjacked a vehicle.
A few days after that, authorities located a backpack belongings to Matthew in a wooded area about 250 yards from his home on Cottage Avenue. Police found various items inside the backpack, but nothing with any evidentiary value.
Although the baby's mother has stated Matthew was a good father who loved his daughter, authorities believe Ember is dead and Matthew is the sole person of interest in her disappearance. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Shasta County Sheriff's Office
530-245-6025
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Facebook Page for Ember Graham
The Los Angeles Times
KRCR 7
The Redding Record-Searchlight
Inside Edition

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