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
Margarette Ann Cuauhtli
Margarette, date, approximate 2001; Age-progression to age 26 (date, approximate 2010); Gabriel Cuauhtli
Date Missing 10/11/2001
Missing From
Arlington, Texas
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 10/25/1984 (37)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A shirt, a miniskirt and zippered black boots.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Margarette has a scar on her right leg. She wears eyeglasses or blue-tinted contact lenses. Her ears are pierced. Margarette goes by her middle name, Ann.
Details of Disappearance Margarette was last seen inside her family's Arlington, Texas residence during the morning hours of October 11, 2001. She has never been heard from again. She was a senior at Sam Houston High School at the time of her disappearance.
Margarette's adoptive father, Gabriel Emilio Cuauhtli, reported her as a runaway. A photograph of Gabriel is posted with this summary. Margarette's Missing Classification was changed from endangered runaway to endangered missing by the end of October 2001.
Gabriel claimed that his daughter was abducted by members of the Mexican Mafia and sold into prostitution. He said that men with shaved heads arrived at his home on Port Phillip Drive in Arlington and demanded ransom money in exchange for Margarette's release. Investigators stated that they believed Gabriel's version of events was fictitious.
Gabriel claimed that he received several e-mails from Margarette after her disappearance. He said that the messages were sent from Mexico between October 2001 and February 2002. A photo of Margarette and another girl posing in front of a Mexican church was allegedly attached to one of her e-mails.
Officials analyzed the image and determined that it was fraudulent. Authorities traced the e-mails and concluded that the messages had been sent from Gabriel's office computer. He was employed as a fraud investigator at Chase Bank on East Border Street at the time.
Gabriel was arrested on suspicion of abducting his daughter in April 2002. He was released shortly thereafter on bail. Margarette's uncle provided a 2001 videotaped statement by his niece, which included her allegations of abuse against her father.
Gabriel claimed that Margarette lied during the taping, and maintained his innocence in her disappearance. He insisted that he recorded telephone conversations with Margarette after October 2001 and handed the tapes over to authorities. Investigators denied that the recordings existed.
Authorities arrested Gabriel in June 2002 and charged him with evidence tampering and fraud. The latter charges stemmed from alleged embezzlement from Chase Bank and are unrelated to Margarette's disappearance.
Gabriel's wife, Margarette's mother Nannette Cuauhtli, supported him and stated that she never believed her husband had anything to do with their daughter's disappearance. Margarette's older brother testified that Margarette told him she wanted to run away because her father was physically and emotionally abusing her.
Gabriel was convicted of the embezzlement charges in May 2004. During the sentencing phase of his trial, he pleaded guilty to theft and tampering with evidence. The kidnapping charge was dropped as part of his plea agreement.
Gabriel is presently incarcerated. Authorities searched for Margarette's body at his former residence in 2006, digging under a concrete patio that was poured just days after her disappearance, but the search turned up no evidence. She remains missing and her is unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Arlington Police Department
817-459-5667
Other
Texas Department of Public Safety
NBC-5
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Dallas Morning News
CBS 11 Dallas-Fort Worth
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
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