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

John Sapienza







John, date, approximate 1997
Date Missing 02/24/1997
Missing From
St. Johnsville, New York
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/06/1934 (88)
Age 62 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A watch and a wedding ring. Clothing unknown, but he normally wears blue shirt and flat sneakers.
Associated Vehicle(s) 1997 Chevrolet Astro van (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, brown eyes. John has blond highlights in his hair, which he wears in bangs, and he may have a mustache. He wears eyeglasses.
Details of Disappearance John was last seen in Amsterdam, New York on February 24, 1997. He and his wife, Charlene, had separated more than a week earlier and Charlene moved in with a friend in the 400 block of Guy Park Avenue. They argued on February 21 and John allegedly told his wife she might never see him again.
On February 23, Charlene called the police to complain that John was stalking her. On February 24 he went to the bank, angry that he hadn't been able to stop payment on a $10,000 check to Charlene.
John planned to travel cross-country in a mobile home to visit his daughter in California. He never arrived in California and he has never been heard from again. His 1997 Chevrolet Astro van was located approximately thirty days after his disappearance at a grocery store parking lot in New Hartford, New York. The store manager said it had been there since around the time Sapienza disappeared.
On March 20, 1997, five days after John's van was found and seven days before a friend reported him missing, Charlene filed a power of attorney John had allegedly signed years earlier. The document gave her control over her husband's finances and real estate.
Beginning in October of that year, she would withdraw what would total $480,000 from his investment accounts. In early 1998, she moved to Las Vegas with a boyfriend. The police stated Charlene didn't seem interested in locating her husband and refused to take a lie detector test.
An unknown individual provided the Social Security Administration with a death certificate for John, giving the date of death as April 15, 1998.
John is missing under suspicious circumstances. His daughter stated he cared very much about his money and material possessions and wouldn't have left them all behind to start a new life. John's daughter believes he was murdered, but his wife speculated that he left of his own accord, perhaps to travel overseas. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
New York State Police
315-866-7275
Other
NamUs
New York Missing Persons
MySpace Page for John Sapienza
Project Jason
The Utica Observer-Dispatch
The Times Telegram

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