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

Jaqueline Szczepanik


Jaqueline, date, approximate 2009
Date Missing 12/14/2009
Missing From
Omaha, Nebraska
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 09/16/1966 (56)
Age 43 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 140 - 150 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Gray Nissan pickup truck (accounted for), Beige 1995 Dodge Caravan with the Nebraska license plate number RHX-005 (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Jaqueline may wear eyeglasses. Her last name is pronounced "suh-PAN-ik." Her nickname is Jackie and some agencies spell her first name "Jacqueline." She is of Brazilian descent.
Details of Disappearance Jaqueline, her seven-year-old son Christopher, and her husbandVanderlei were last seen in Omaha, Nebraska in mid-December 2009. Different dates have been given for their disappearances, ranging from December 14 to December 18.
The family lived in the former Paul VI High School near 16th Street and Center Street. They were originally from Brazil and moved to Nebraska from Florida in 2005.They were renovating the former high school and St. Joseph Grade School for a Florida-based church, the Assembly of God Bethlehem Ministry, which had purchased the buildings to create a missionary training center.
The family's loved ones were initially not concerned about their absence, as they thought the Szczepaniks must have gone away for the winter holidays.
The Assembly of God pastor, Humberto Solano-Costa, got a call from a Szczepanik family friend on January 6. The friend normally spoke to Szczepaniks daily, but she hadn't been able to contact them and she was concerned. Solano-Costa flew to Omaha on January 8 and filed a missing persons report with the police.
When they checked the Szczepaniks' home, they found all their belongings there, including clothes, hunting guns, furniture, computers and cellular phone chargers. Authorities stated it looked as if they had intended to leave home for only a few minutes or a few hours, but something prevented them from returning.
The family's gray Nissan pickup truck was found abandoned a few blocks from their home days after their disappearances were reported. In February, Jaqueline's beige 1995 Dodge Caravan with the Nebraska license plate number RHX-005 was also located.
In May 2010, police arrested Jose Carlos Oliveria-Coutinho, Elias Lourenco-Batista, and and Valdeir Gonclaves-Santos and charged them with unlawful use of a financial transaction device.
The three men allegedly used the Szczepaniks' personal and business cards to withdraw more than $4,000 from ATMs. The money was then spent on food and clothing. The financial transactions began right after the family disappeared.
The charges against Lourenco-Batista and Gonclaves-Santos had to be dropped in January 2011 for procedural reasons. All three men are il immigrants from the same Brazilian town and had worked for the Szczepanik family. They were reportedly angry at Vanderlei for not paying them enough.
At his murder trial in August 2011, Gonclaves-Santos's wife testified against him, as did the wife of Oliveria-Coutinho. The two women traveled from their homes in Brazil to report statements their husbands had made to them around the time of the Szczepaniks' disappearances; they were the star witnesses.
Right before the end of his trial, Gonclaves-Santos admitted his guilt and said he would confess and testify against Lourenco-Batista and Oliveria-Coutinho in exchange for a plea to a single count of second-degree murder and a twenty-year sentence; he may serve only ten.
According to his testimony, the three men beat Vanderlei to death in front of his wife, hanged Jaqueline and Christopher later that day, and threw their bodies into the Missouri River. It wasn't until after Gonclaves-Santos's confession that authorities had enough evidence to charge the other suspects with murder.
By that time, Lourenco-Batista had been deported to his native Brazil. It may be impossible to extradite him; the Brazilian constitution forbids it, with a few exceptions. He could be tried on Brazilian soil, however.
Authorities believe Oliveria-Coutinho was the ringleader in the plot to kill the Szczepanik family. They plan to seek the death penalty against him. Christopher's skeletal remains found in the river in October 2011, after Goncalves-Santos led police to the disposal site. Authorities believe they will be able to locate Jaqueline and Vanderlei's bodies too, but they have yet to be recovered.
Jaqueline has an adult daughter who lives in Brazil, who she was in close contact with. The entire family is described as religious, with close ties to the community, and unlikely to leave of their own accord. Foul play is suspected in Jaqueline and Vanderlei's s due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Omaha Police Department
402-444-5600
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
NamUs
WOWT
KPTM
The Omaha World-Herald
KETV
Nebraska ABC
The Washington Post

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