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
Leo Widicker
Widicker, date, approximate 2001
Date Missing 11/08/2001
Missing From
Tabacon Hot Springs, Costa Rica
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 02/26/1915 (107)
Age 86 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 145 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white baseball cap, jeans, black shoes, a red and blue plaid shirt, a blue jacket and a name tag.
Medical Conditions Widicker has a hearing impairment and wears hearing aids in both of his ears. He suffers from unspecified medical problems. Widicker may have been disoriented at the time of his November 2001 disappearance.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blue eyes. Widicker wears eyeglasses. He is bald.
Details of Disappearance Widicker is a retired farmer and resided in Bowden, North Dakota with his wife. The couple accompanied a group from Maranatha Volunteers International, a Christian humanitarian organization, to Costa Rica in November 2001. The volunteers painted churches and schools in the area at the time.
The group visited the Tabacon Resort in Tabacon Hot Springs on November 8. Widicker was last seen sitting on a bench near their tour bus sometime during the afternoon. His wife walked approximately 15 to 20 feet away to wade in the hot springs while he rested. She returned approximately 30 minutes later and discovered that her husband had disappeared. Widicker has never been heard from again.
An extensive search of the area produced no clues as to Widicker's whereabouts. Security guards at the resort reported watching Widicker walk away from the parking lot along a public road leading away from the property. The sighting was not considered abnormal at the time, since many guests walked along the road to visit additional hot springs.
Widicker does not speak Spanish. There were unconfirmed sightings of him in the Moravia, Los Yoses and San Jose areas of Costa Rica shortly after his disappearance. Widicker's remains unsolved.
Some reports may state that Widicker disappeared after sitting on the group's bus while his wife visited the springs.
Investigating Agency
United States Embassy
San Jose, Costa Rica Office
011-506-220-3939
Other
NamUs
Maranatha Volunteers International
AM Costa Rica
The Grand Forks Herald
. .
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