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

Jack Donald Lewis
Jack, date, approximate 1997
Date Missing 08/18/1997
Missing From
Tampa, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 04/30/1938 (84)
Age 59 years old
Height and Weight 5'10, 170 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A t-shirt from Kmart, and blue jeans.
Associated Vehicle(s) White 1989 Dodge van (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Jack's nickname is Don and most agencies refer to him by that name. He may use the alias name Bob Martinez. He wears eyeglasses for reading.
Details of Disappearance Don was last seen in Tampa, Florida on August 18, 1997. He left home early that day and made a delivery around 6:00 a.m. He has never been heard from again.
The next day, his white 1989 Dodge van was found abandoned at the Pilot Country Airport, a private airport near State Road 52 and U.S. 41 in Pasco County, Florida. The keys were on the floorboard and there was no sign of Don. He knows how to fly a plane and he owned several, but he'd been involved in three aviation accidents and his pilot's license was suspended at the time of his disappearance.
Don had made millions of dollars in his real estate career; he was noted as a "ruthless" businessman. He had a habit of carrying large sums of cash and buying expensive things, including airplanes, on impulse. In spite of his wealth, however, he lived frugally and sometimes even scavenged for food in dumpsters.
He and his wife, Carole, owned Wildlife on Easy Street, later called Big Cat Rescue, a forty-acre wildlife sanctuary in Citrus Park, Florida where approximately 200 animals, including about 120 exotic cats as well as otters, llamas, and horses, lived.
In June 1997, two months before his disappearance, Don sought a temporary domestic violence injunction to remove Carole from their home, telling a judge that she had threatened to kill him and told him to be out of the house by June 12. The judge refused to issue the injunction, however.
Carole said she asked Don to go see a psychiatrist, and he went, but only for one appointment; he didn't return for any follow-up visits. She stated he had told her several times that he wanted a divorce, but she didn't think he was being serious. She also denied having ever had a serious argument with him, in spite of what Don had claimed earlier.
After his disappearance, Don's four children from his first marriage fought with Carole over control of his businesses and property. They believe foul play was involved in his disappearance, and have openly accused Carole of murdering him. Carole refused to cooperate with the police investigation into his disappearance or take a polygraph, saying her attorney had advised against it. All the other members of the family volunteered to take polygraphs.
Authorities got reports that Don was in Costa Rica, where he owned 200 acres of land and several apartment buildings. Earlier in 1997, he had begun transferring ownership of his properties in Florida to the Wito Corporation, a Costa Rican company he controlled. Police went to Costa Rica, investigated for five days, and spoke to most of Don's acquaintances there, but found no evidence that he'd traveled there after his disappearance.
The circumstances of his are unclear. Carole has remarried and now uses the last name Baskin.
Investigating Agency
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
800-873-8477
Other
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
The Tampa Bay Times
The Tampa Tribune
NamUs
People Magazine
Film Daily