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

Evelyn Laverne Mackey



Evelyn, date, approximate 1981; Mearl Mackey, date, approximate 1981; Mearl in 2015
Date Missing 11/05/1981
Missing From
Hernando County, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 04/15/1940 (82)
Age 41 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 120 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, gray eyes. Evelyn goes by her middle name, Laverne.
Details of Disappearance Evelyn's teenage daughter last saw her on the morning of November 5, 1981. Evelyn made breakfast for her daughter, and Evelyn's new husband, Mearl McFarland Mackey Jr., took her to school.
That afternoon, Mearl went to pick up Evelyn's daughter alone. He told her and her brother that Evelyn had gone to Ohio to take care of her sick sister-in-law, but she did not arrive there and her sister-in-law wasn't expecting a visit from her. Just a few days after Evelyn was last seen, Mearl asked his stepdaughter, "What would you say if I told you your mom wasnt coming home?"
He told the police different stories, saying Evelyn had gone to Tampa, Florida, that she had returned home and left with a boyfriend, and that she'd gone away to be a missionary. She has never been heard from again. Her family reported her missing in January 1982.
Photos of Mearl are posted with this summary. Starting on the day Evelyn disappeared, he began emptying her bank account. He has been in and out of prison since 1976, mostly for theft- and fraud-related offenses.
In 2015, authorities tracked him down in Texas and told him they might have found Evelyn's remains in the wreckage of a crashed plane in South America and Mearl might get a financial settlement from the airline, but to be entitled to the settlement he had to go over his statements about Evelyn's disappearance.
When he went to the police station and investigators asked him to explain all the discrepancies in his prior interview transcripts, Mearl said he was "not going to confess." When police told him he could face a first-degree murder charge, Mearl said he and Evelyn had gone fishing in Inglis, Florida when she accidentally fell at the dock, struck her head and stopped breathing, and that he tied an anchor to her body and sunk it in the water.
Mearl was allowed to leave after giving this statement, but in September 2015 he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Evelyn's . He could have faced the death penalty if convicted. In June 2018, Mearl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison, under the sentencing guidelines that existed in 1981. His earliest expected release date is 2021.
Foul play is suspected in Evelyn's due to the circumstances involved. Her body has never been found.
Investigating Agency
Hernando County Sheriff's Office
352-754-6830
Other
Hernando County Sheriff's Office
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Corrections
The Ruidoso News
The Tampa 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