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

Maribel Oquendo-Carrero





Maribel, date, approximate 1982; Age-progression to age 47 (date, approximate 2020); Emiliano Oquendo in 2018
Date Missing 12/06/1982
Missing From
Homestead, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 10/22/1973 (48)
Age 9 years old
Height and Weight 4'0 - 4'2, 60 - 100 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue and pink pants and beige and brown shoes.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Maribel may use the first name Marilyn.
Details of Disappearance Maribel left her family's home in Homestead, Florida on the afternoon of December 6, 1982 to buy candy. A friend of her father's gave her some quarters to pay with. Her older sister told her to take one of her siblings and ask permission from their mother, but Maribel went to the store by herself. She did arrive at Food Spot #21, a store in the 1600 block of northeast 8th Street, and spent $5 on candy. The clerk saw her go outside and get into a car that was waiting. She has never been heard from again.
One theory is that Maribel was abducted by her non-custodial father, Emiliano Olivo Oquendo. He was a heavy drug user and physically and emotionally abused Maribel's mother, Ana Maria Hernandez. When they were together they lived in New Jersey, and had three children.
Eventually Hernandez left him with the the children and moved to Puerto Rico for a time. When she returned to New Jersey, Oquendo reportedly stalked her. By 1982, Hernandez had taken the children to Florida, but Emiliano had found them there. Maribel's sister Clarabel Garay, who was seventeen at the time, said three days before Maribel disappeared, Emiliano showed up at their home, demanded Hernandez resume their relationship, and tried to stab her when she refused. He said, "Im going to take away the thing you love the most."
A few weeks after Maribel's disappearance, Hernandez and Garay found Emiliano in Lake Worth, Florida and saw him driving away with what looked like a small girl in the back of his car. When he came back, he was alone, and told Hernandez, "If you want to see your daughter again, you come live with me."
Emiliano's date of birth is October 8, 1938; he was forty-four years old in December 1982. A current photo of him is posted with this summary. He has been arrested multiple times in Florida in recent years, always on minor charges. He is now elderly, suffers from dementia, and lives in a nursing home. A photo of Emiliano is posted with this summary. According to Maribel's sister, he has refused to say whether he knows what happened to Maribel.
Maribel's remains unsolved and the circumstances of her disappearance are unclear.
Investigating Agency
Homestead Police Department
305-247-1535
Other
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Facebook Page for Maribel Oquendo-Carrero
Florida Arrests
The Miami 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