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
Judith Dunton Osteen
Osteen, date, approximate 2007; Sketch of Osteen's abductor
Date Missing 12/15/2007
Missing From
Old Town, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/12/1947 (75)
Age 60 years old
Height and Weight 5'2, 120 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair. Osteen has a scar on her face near her eye. She smokes 305 brand cigarettes.
Details of Disappearance Osteen was last seen in Old Town, Florida on December 15, 2007. She shared a home with her 64-year-old developmentally disabled sister more than nine miles north of U. S. 19/98, off State Road 349. Osteen's sister stated they went to sleep in separate bedrooms that night, and she woke up when a strange man came into her room and forced her onto the floor. Osteen walked into the room at that point and the man grabbed her and forced her out of the home.
Osteen's sister stayed in her room for several hours after the abduction without summoning authorities because she was afraid for her life. The sisters' housekeeper reported the abduction the next morning.
Osteen's sister was unable to provide a good description of the abductor; she said only that he was Caucasian and had short gray hair and a receding hairline. A sketch of him is posted with this summary. The abductor has never been identified. Authorities found no sign of forced entry to Osteen's house. There were no tire tracks or footprints nearby, but rain on the night of her disappearance could have erased any tracks. Her purse and her shoes were left behind.
Osteen's live-in boyfriend, Charles Carr, was shot and killed in 2004 after he interrupted a burglary at his furniture and appliance store. James Kenneth "Jimmy" Lawrence Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder in that and sentenced to life in prison. Carr's heirs gave her a lifetime estate to his home, meaning she could live there until she died. Authorities investigated whether her abduction was related to Carr's murder, but they do not believe there's any connection.
At the time of her abduction, Osteen had a flea market booth in Fanning Springs, Florida where she sold miscellaneous items. She was a frequent computer user and knew many people over the internet. Police searched her hard drive for clues in her and spoke to some of her online friends. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Dixie County Sheriff's Office
352-498-1231
Other
The Tallahassee Democrat
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Gainesville Sun
The Ocala Star-Banner
WCTV
The Dixie County Times
WCJB TV-20
NamUs
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