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

Marilyn Kay Pratt
Pratt, date, approximate 1971
Date Missing 10/08/1971
Missing From
Spokane, Washington
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/03/1941 (81)
Age 30 years old
Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'6, 160 - 170 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A yellow or white pantsuit, a white sweater, sandals and a yellow gold wedding band.
Medical Conditions Pratt may have been suffering from depression at the time of her disappearance.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Pratt has a hysterectomy scar on her abdomen and a small chip in her upper front tooth, and her ears are pierced. Her nickname is Lynn.
Details of Disappearance Pratt was last seen with her husband and friends at the Flame Lounge, a restaurant and cocktail lounge in Spokane, Washington on the evening of October 8, 1971. She and her husband got into an argument and Pratt took her purse and left the table.
Her husband at first assumed she'd gone to the bathroom, but she never returned. He later found out she'd gone to another bar nearby, had one beer, used the phone and left. She has never been heard from again. Her husband reported her missing a few days later.
Pratt had five young children and at the time of her disappearance she was active in the Parent-Teacher Association, was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, and was involved with other family activities. Although her husband described her as "mentally erratic" and her ten-year-old daughter said she thought she had a drinking problem, she was devoted to her children.
Her husband stated she had been unfaithful once, several years earlier, and she became depressed after she had a hysterectomy. He said that in the year prior to her October 1971 disappearance, she had briefly dropped out of sight twice and then reappeared with no explanation. Nevertheless, he described their marriage as happy and said he thought she would have contacted the family at some point if she could have.
Pratt was seeing a counselor at the time of her disappearance, and the counselor stated that although she was frustrated with her marital situation, he didn't think she would have walked out of her life and left her children without a mother.
In 1979, Pratt's husband had her declared ly dead. She had no life insurance or estate for the family to inherit, but her husband said he wanted a sense of closure in her . Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Spokane Police Department
509-755-2489
Other
NamUs
Washington State Missing Persons Information
The Spokane Chronicle