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
Joseph Leo Zak
Zak, date, approximate 2015; Zak's blue bag
Date Missing 12/07/2015
Missing From
Brookston, Minnesota
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/19/1981 (41)
Age 34 years old
Height and Weight 6'0 - 6'1, 325 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Carrying a blue drawstring bag with a zipper pocket, gray trim and the words "Residential Services INC. Nurturing Abilities" with a tree logo; a photo of an identical bag is posted with this summary.
Medical Conditions Zak is autistic and suffers from depression, and also has physical health issues. His conditions make it difficult for him to process language and handle stress. He is classified as disabled and needs medications which he doesn't have with him.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Zak had previously had a beard, but shaved it just prior to his disappearance. His nickname is Joe.
Details of Disappearance Zak was last seen in Brookston, Minnesota on December 7, 2015. He had been living in a group home on a 160-acre rural farm on the Fond du Lac for the past several years, and was last seen at the home at 7:15 a.m. He was behaving normally at the time.
Zak is interested in World War II history and enjoys fishing. Due to his mental conditions he is extremely vulnerable; he had spent most of his life in and out of residential care facilities. At the group home he had medication, therapy, and 24-hour supervision, including visual checks every fifteen minutes. He kept in touch with his family regularly, speaking to them on the phone almost every day.
He had acted out in the past by harming himself and had previously run away, but he enjoyed his life at the home caring for the farm animals, and he hadn't run away in over a year prior to his disappearance.
There was a signal on Zak's cellular phone in the Esko, Minnesota area an hour after he left the home, but this was the last sign of him. On one of the previous occasions when he disappeared, he was found standing waist-deep in the St. Louis River, suffering from "psychological distress."
Investigators believe he may have gone to the river or another local body of water and drowned after his disappearance. A cadaver dog picked up the scent of human remains at the river, but searches of the area have turned up no sign of him. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
St. Louis County Sheriff's Office
218-336-4350
Other
The Duluth News Tribune
NamUs
Fox 9
Facebook Page for Joseph Zak
GoMN
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