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
Heather Ann MacCrossen
MacCrossen, date, approximate 2007; Tattoo on MacCrossen's arm; Andrelo Witcher
Date Missing 08/17/2007
Missing From
Gainesville, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/03/1981 (41)
Age 26 years old
Height and Weight 5'9 - 5'10, 115 - 140 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. MacCrossen may have blonde highlights in her hair. Her ears pierced (possibly two times each). She has a tattoo of the letters "BMM" on her arm with a star above the B and a star above the second M, and a tattoo of a rose on her back. A photo of her arm tattoo is posted with this summary.
Details of Disappearance MacCrossen lived in Newberry, Florida at the time of her disappearance. She was last heard from on August 17, 2007, when she called her mother in Michigan and said she was at a Greyhound bus stop in Gainesville, Florida. MacCrossen never contacted her family again. They reported her missing in December of that year.
There's been no activity on her credit cards or Social Security number since her disappearance. She had a violent relationship with her boyfriend, Andrelo Lasuard Witcher, and he was allegedly very controlling of her. A photo of Witcher is posted with this summary. He has an extensive criminal record, including domestic violence and drug offenses.
Shortly before her disappearance, MacCrossen fled to Michigan and arrived at a relative's home with two black eyes. After spending a month in Michigan, she returned to Florida to deal with a misdemeanor traffic ticket. She called her family from the Gainesville bus station to tell them she'd arrived safely, and this was the last time they heard from her. She failed to appear in court to answer to the traffic charge and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
MacCrossen told her family she was afraid of Witcher, but she never sought a restraining order against him. She once accused him of sexual battery, but the charges were dropped because MacCrossen wouldn't cooperate with the investigation.
There were multiple documented instances of domestic violence between them; at one point, Witcher threatened MacCrossen with a gun, beat her and held her captive in her home for two days before she escaped. Witcher is a registered sex offender and has a criminal record with domestic violence, weapons and drug charges.
Investigators interviewed him about MacCrossen and he said he had no idea where she was. In April 2016, five and a half years after her disappearance, Witcher was charged with manslaughter in her .
There was no physical evidence; the against Witcher was solely on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony of Witcher's threats against MacCrossen. He was convicted in December 2018 and sentenced to thirty years in prison; he must serve at least fifteen years before he can be considered for parole.
Witcher became the suspect in another missing woman's , that of Kamrie Mitchell, in 2012. Early in the morning of August 25, while she was at her father's home, he entered the residence uninvited and threatened her and others.
Mitchell disappeared later that day. Witcher wasn't located until September; he was arrested and charged with burglary while armed, possession of a weapon by a felon and failure to comply with sex offender registration. Mitchell remains missing and no one has been charged in her .
Prior to her involvement with Witcher, MacCrossen maintained regular contact with her family in Michigan and often asked how her young son was doing; he lives in Michigan with his father. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Alachua County Sheriff's Office
352-367-4000
Other
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
WCJB TV 20
The Gainesville Sun
Missing Persons Registry
NamUs
Florida Department of Corrections
The Suwannee Democrat
LostNMissing
Who Got Arrested?
Facebook Page for Heather MacCrossen
The Orlando Political Observer
4 News Gainesville
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