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
Melchor Tabag
Tabag, date, approximate 1999; Michael Lawrence
Date Missing 03/27/1999
Missing From
Honolulu, Hawaii
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Asian
Age 41 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Asian male. Black hair, brown eyes. Tabag's nickname is Mel. He is of Filipino descent and speaks poor English.
Details of Disappearance Tabag was last seen in Honolulu, Hawaii on March 27, 1999. He was employed selling vacuum cleaners for Kirby Sales & Service at the time of his disappearance. On the day he vanished, he called his boss to say he would meet him at a restaurant in a short time. Tabag never arrived and has never been heard from again.
Authorities believe Tabag was murdered by one of his customers, Michael Robert Lawrence, at Lawrence's home while Tabag was demonstrating products. Lawrence's mother said she saw Tabag lying on the floor bleeding and her son standing over him, holding a hammer.
Investigators believe Lawrence dismembered the body and disposed of the pieces at the city dump. No trace of it was ever found, but Melchor's DNA was found on Lawrence's bone saw and he was driving Tabag's car when he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
At Lawrence's bench trial in 2002, he admitted he had killed Tabag, but argued he was insane at the time of the murder and not responsible for his actions. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, hears voices, and allegedly believed he had a mission to kill people and cut up their bodies.
Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He will be held at Hawaii State Hospital until it's determined he's no longer a danger to the public.
Tabag moved from the Philippines to Hawaii in 1986. He pooled his money with family members to purchase a house, never married, and worked many jobs to make ends meet. Foul play is suspected in his due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Honolulu Police Department
Other
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Honolulu Advertiser
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