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
Laura Lynn Thompson
Laura, date, approximate 1993; Age-progression to age 35 (date, approximate 2012); Joseph Marshall Jr.; Sean McDonough
Date Missing 01/07/1993
Missing From
New Castle, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 04/05/1977 (45)
Age 15 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 140 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, blue eyes. Laura has a light-colored birthmark at her hairline on the back of her neck.
Details of Disappearance Laura was last seen in New Castle, Pennsylvania on January 7, 1993. She was a high school student at the time, and the mother of a nine-month-old son. Her was classified as a runaway for many years after her disappearance, although she had no history of such behavior and she didn't take any belongings with her.
In September 2010, two suspects, Joseph N. Marshall Jr. and his friend Sean M. McDonough, were charged with Laura's murder. Photographs of both of them are posted with this summary. Laura knew them, and she was last seen en route to play cards with them.
The homicide came to light when Joseph's wife, Shannon Marshall, went to the police in the summer of 2010 and told them what she knew. She had known about the crime since January 1993. During their engagement, Joseph had told her he killed someone, but didn't name his victim.
Later he told her more, stating McDonough had persuaded Laura to come over, and they took her to a cabin in the woods Shenango Township, Pennsylvania. There, McDonough stabbed Laura to death and sexually assaulted her corpse. Several months later, McDonough returned to the shallow grave where he'd buried Laura, removed her skull, teeth and hands, and moved them elsewhere. In the summer of 1993, Shannon accompanied Joseph and McDonough when they dug up the rest of Laura's body and dumped it in a ravine.
Shannon didn't come to the authorities with her information until July 2010; she had decided to divorce Joseph and was afraid for her life. She agreed to wear a wire and recorded conversations with her husband and McDonough that implicated them. She has not been charged in the homicide.
Joseph was charged with criminal homicide, murder, conspiracy and abuse of a corpse. McDonough faced the same charges, as well as two counts of rape. He was living in Thibodaux, Louisiana at the time of his arrest, and had never been arrested before.
In February 2015, McDonough pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to eight to sixteen years in prison, with credit for time served; he spent more than four years in jail awaiting the resolution of the .
Later that month, Marshall pleaded guilty to misdemeanor abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to one to two years in prison, and given credit for two years of time served; as a result, was released from custody. All the other charges against him were dropped, the prosecution didn't believe there was enough evidence to convict him of murder.
Authorities believe Laura's body may not be recoverable, as a farmer dumped a demolished barn and a large amount of earth into the ravine after her body was put there. Foul play is suspected in Laura's due to the circumstances involved. Her disappearance remains classified as a runaway with many agencies.
Investigating Agency
New Castle Police Department
724-658-4741
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Westminster Cable Network
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
WTAE 4
The Beaver County Times
The Valley Vindicator
The Houma Courier
The New Castle News
The Ellwood City Ledger
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