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
Jennifer Nicole Patterson
Jennifer, date, approximate 1991; Age-progression to age 24 (date, approximate 2008)
Date Missing 06/23/1991
Missing From
Spring Lake, North Carolina
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 01/13/1984 (38)
Age 7 years old
Height and Weight 4'5, 59 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A one-piece bathing suit with orange, yellow, pink and turquoise squares and squiggle shapes.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Sandy brown hair, brown eyes. Jennifer has scars on her right temple and between her eyes. She has a freckle on the tip of her nose. Her nickname is Jenny.
Details of Disappearance Jennifer was reportedly last seen leaving her family's residence at Holly Hills Mobile Home Park in the 1400 block of north Fort Bragg Boulevard in Spring Lake, North Carolina on June 23, 1991.
Jennifer planned to walk to a neighbor's home at approximately 1:15 p.m. She never arrived at her destination and has not been heard from again. She was reported missing at 6:00 p.m. Extensive searches of the area did not produce any evidence as to her whereabouts.
At the time of her disappearance, Jennifer's parents were divorced but were still living together. Her father, Alan Patterson, failed a polygraph exam following his daughter's 1991 disappearance. He was viewed as a possible suspect by law enforcement at the time, and police said there was no evidence that Jennifer ever left her home that day. Alan was involved in a custody dispute over Jennifer at the time of her disappearance, and he was scheduled to take a paternity test.
When interviewed by police, he initially said Jennifer had disappeared as a result of the custody dispute and was alive and being cared for. He later maintained that he was speaking hypothetically and did not intend for his statements to be taken as fact.
Jennifer's parents separated and moved away to different states a few months after she disappeared. Her father maintains his innocence in her disappearance, stating he was at work when she went missing.
Authorities now call Alan their prime suspect in his daughter's . They stated that forensic technology that was unavailable in 1991 may help solve Jennifer's . They suspect she is deceased.
Jennifer's disappearance remains unsolved. The mobile home park where she lived has since been abandoned.
Investigating Agency
Spring Lake Police Department
910-436-0350
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
The News and Observer
The State
WRAL-TV
Eyewitness News 11 ABC
The CUE Center for Missing Persons
Facebook Page for Jennifer Patterson
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