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

Mary Rose Mikulak
Mikulak in the 1980s (more recent photos are unavailable); Linasheri D'Onofrio, date, approximate 2017
Date Missing 09/01/2007
Missing From
Plains Township, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 89 years old
Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'10, 150 - 160 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair. Mikulak may use the last names Genovese and/or D'Onofrio.
Details of Disappearance Mikulak was last seen in Plains Township, Pennsylvania sometime after September 2007. She lived with Linasheri D'Onofrio, who was her granddaughter, and Linasheri's disabled son,Shain Cori-Jesi D'Onofrio. Shain had cerebral palsy and could not walk; he used a wheelchair or motorized scooter to get around.
A photo of Linasheri is posted with this summary. She also uses the names Layla Marie Genovese and Layla McCool. Her ex-husband helped her, Shain and Mikulak move from New Jersey to the East Mountain Ridge Mobile Home Park off Jumper Road in Plains Township in 2007.
Mikulak dropped out of sight sometime afterward and has never been heard from again. In 2011, her New Jersey relatives hired a private detective to find her, without result.
Linasheri house-sat for a neighbor in 2014, while the man was in a nursing home. When he returned home, he discovered six personal checks for a total of $2,980 had been stolen from him, written out to Mikulak, and deposited in a bank account jointly owned by Mikulak and Linasheri. The man complained to the police, who were unable to find Mikulak.
In February 2018, a shed behind Linasheri's trailer caught fire in what was later determined to be arson. Authorities discovered human remains inside it, wearing sweatpants, a stained shirt and a toddler's diaper and wrapped in a blanket. They were initially thought to be female, but later determined to be male, and were not identified for three months.
Neighbors told investigators that Linasheri lived near the shed with her disabled son. When questioned, Linasheri said the disabled male was not her son but her brother, that his name was David Genovese, and that he was living with their mother in New Jersey. She refused to provide an address for them, claiming they were in the witness protection program.
It wasn't until May that police were able to determine the body in the burned shed was Shain's. He was 24 years old when he died. The neighbors hadn't seen him for awhile prior to his death, but Linasheri had appeared with him at an eviction hearing in September 2017. Police found Shain's New Jersey birth certificate identifying him as Linasheri's son. The father named on the certificate said he was not Shain's biological father and hadn't seen him in almost a decade.
In mid-April 2018, Linasheri was arrested on forgery and theft charges stemming from the check thefts at her neighbor's house. She remains in jail and has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the shed fire, Shain's death or Mikulak's disappearance. It wasn't until after the shed fire that investigators realized Mikulak was missing.
Authorities are not certain what happened to Mikulak, who would now be approximately 100 years old. They are trying to locate anyone in the local area who may have had contact with her at any point. They can find no death records for her, and no human remains have been discovered either, but they believe she is deceased.
Investigating Agency
Pennsylvania State Police
570-697-2000
Other
NamUs
The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
WNEP 16
Fox 56 WOLF
The Citizens Voice