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
Heidi Marie Allen
Allen, date, approximate 1994; Age-progression to age 46 (date, approximate 2021); D & W Convenience Store
Date Missing 04/03/1994
Missing From
New Haven, New York
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 09/14/1975 (47)
Age 18 years old
Height and Weight 5'9 - 5'11, 145 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray sweatshirt with a plaid SU logo imprinted on the front, light blue jeans, size 9 or 10 white sneakers, and possibly an eighteen-inch gold chain necklace with a heart and diamond pendant.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Light brown hair, blue/hazel eyes. Allen has a one-inch scar on her right knee and a freckle-type birthmark between her buttocks. Her ears are pierced. Allen wears contact lenses or eyeglasses with Renaissance metal frames.
Details of Disappearance Allen was employed as a clerk at the D & W Convenience Store located at the intersection of New York State Routes 104 and 104B in New Haven, New York in 1994. A photo of the store is posted with this summary. Allen opened the business by herself at approximately 5:45 a.m. on April 3, 1994. The last transaction was recorded on the cash register at 7:42 a.m.A passerby flagged down a sheriff's patrol unit outside the store at approximately 8:15 a.m. and reported that the business was open but unattended. An extensive search produced few clues as to Allen's whereabouts and she has never been heard from again.The ensuing investigation revealed that Allen was most likely taken against her will from the store. Her jacket, purse and car keys were left behind in the store when she vanished, her maroon station wagon was undisturbed in the parking lot, and money was found in the cash register and on the counter.Richard Thibodeau was charged with Allen's kidnapping in May 1994, one month after she was last seen. Richard's brother, Gary Thibodeau, was arrested on the same charge in August 1994, three months later. Richard was the last customer known to be in the store before Allen vanished. He says he purchased two packs of cigarettes at 7:30 a.m. and left.Gary was convicted of first-degree kidnapping in Allen's in June 1995 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Richard was acquitted of all charges in September 1995. Gary attempted to appeal his conviction, but was denied in 1999. He is expected to remain incarcerated until 2020.Prior to her disappearance, Allen's cousin, Melissa Searles, gave her a gold bracelet with her name on it. Searles stated the bracelet mysteriously turned up inside an envelope in her mailbox in 2004, but she didn't tell the police or anyone else about it for years. The reasons for her silence are unclear.Allen's abduction got additional attention the summer of 2014, when investigators dug up the floor of a collapsed cabin looking for her body. They didn't find anything in the search, however. Her mother died in 2015 at the age of 66, on what would have been Allen's 40th birthday.Allen was about to graduate from Onondaga Community College with a degree in human services when she disappeared; she hoped to get a career in education or counseling. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.
Investigating Agency
Oswego County Sheriff's Department
888-349-3411
800-724-8477
Other
Oswego County Sheriff's Department
Child Protection Education of America
Missing Children Center Inc.
NewspaperArchive
NamUs
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Syracuse Post-Standard
The Doe Network
NamUs
Facebook Page for Heidi Allen
Past Press Articles about Heidi Allen's Disappearance
NBC News
Spectrum News
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