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

Mary Patricia Burns

Burns, date, approximate 1977
Date Missing 12/13/1977
Missing From
Bothell, Washington
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/28/1947 (75)
Age 30 years old
Height and Weight 5'2, 115 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Light brown hair, green eyes. Burns has pierced ears. She wears eyeglasses, but they were left behind.
Details of Disappearance Burns was last seen working in a boutique in the 18800 block of Bothwell Way northeast in Bothell, Washington on the evening of December 13, 1977. Because of a scheduling mixup, there was no one working with her that day.
At 9:00 p.m., when Burns's sister-in-law came to help her close the store for the night, Burns was gone. The store's lights were out, the doors were unlocked and 29 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition were scattered around the building's interior.
Burns's car was found undisturbed in the parking lot. Her eyeglasses and one of her earrings were inside the store fitting room, and her purse was missing. She has never been heard from again.
Authorities announced they were seeking a person for questioning; he was described as 6'3 to 6'4 tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and an angular face. He had been witnessed talking to Burns at the store before she disappeared.
Robert Elmore Taylor is the prime suspect in Burns's disappearance. A convicted murderer, he had escaped from a Michigan prison and in January 1978, he robbed a Bothell massage parlor at gunpoint and abducted two of its female employees. One of them was able to get the gun away from him and shot him twice in the abdomen, and he was arrested.
When police searched his residence, they found clothing that had been stolen from Burns's store hanging in his closet, as well as merchandise which had been purchased with Burns's credit cards. Sales clerks identified Taylor as the person who bought the items, signing Burns's husband's name on the credit card slips, and the writing on the receipts matched Taylor's.
Taylor was convicted of kidnapping and robbery in the massage parlor and sentenced to 240 years in prison. He was never charged in Burns's disappearance because authorities couldn't find her body and because the other charges ensured he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. He was murdered by another inmate in 1979. The investigation into Burns's stagnated after Taylor's death.
Burns's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Bothell Police Department
425-487-5100
Other
Washington State Missing Persons Information
NamUs
The Idaho Spokesman-Review
The Seattle Times
The Spokane Daily Chronicle

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