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.



Missing Person Photos

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

Melissa Lee Brannen
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
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missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
missing 2023 updates
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Melissa, date, approximate 1989; Age-progression to age 21 (date, approximate 2005); Caleb Hughes, date, approximate 1991; Hughes, date, approximate 2019; Melissa's clothes
Date Missing 12/03/1989
Missing From
Lorton, Virginia
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 04/13/1984 (38)
Age 5 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 38 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A pink hooded jacket, a navy blue acrylic J.C. Penney sweater with red and blue plaid sleeves, navy blue cuffs and a yellow applique of the Sesame Street character Big Bird on the front, a red and blue plaid cotton skirt, red tights and black patent leather shoes with gold bows. Photos of Melissa's coat, sweater and skirt are posted with this summary.
Associated Vehicle(s) Maroon Honda (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Melissa has a burn scar on her right forearm.
Details of Disappearance Melissa was last seen at a holiday party in the Woodside Apartment Clubhouse, at approximately 10:00 p.m. on December 3, 1989 in Lorton, Virginia. Her family resided in the apartment complex. Melissa and her mother were about to leave the party but Melissa went to get some more potato chips before they left, and was never seen again. There were approximately eighty guests present at the party at the time.
Caleb Daniel Hughes emerged as a suspect in Melissa's almost immediately. Photos of him are posted with this summary. Hughes was employed as a groundskeeper at Woodside Apartments at the time of Melissa's disappearance; he had worked there for only about two weeks.
He was a guest at Melissa's family's party the evening of her disappearance, had been sitting near her when she was last seen, and left at approximately the same time the child was discovered missing. He had a criminal record prior to Melissa's disappearance, but not for violent or sexual offenses.
Investigators looked for Hughes right after Melissa's disappearance was discovered, but did not find him until 1:00 a.m. the next day. He had already put his party clothes in the washing machine. The FBI took blood, hair and fiber evidence from Hughes's maroon Honda and tested it in a forensic laboratory.
The laboratory found that Melissa could be a source for the hair and the bloodstains, which were found on some tissues in the car, but so could 40% of the general population. Further testing ruled out Melissa as a source for the stains. However, rabbit hairs found in the car matched Melissa's rabbit-fur jacket and there were many blue fibers that matched her sweater and some red fibers consistent with her skirt.
Hughes was convicted of abducting Melissa with the intent to defile in 1991, and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He has always maintained his innocence in Melissa's . He was an exemplary prisoner for most of his term, and accumulated enough good behavior credits to shorten his sentence. As a result, he was released from prison in August 2019, after serving just 29 years of his sentence.
Two other men were convicted of attempting to extort ransom money from Melissa's mother shortly after her daughter's disappearance. The individuals were not connected to her actual abduction. Melissa has never been located. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Fairfax County Sheriff's Department
703-246-7800
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
The Washington Post
The Washington Times
Office of the Inspector General
Connection Newspapers
Virginia Department of Corrections
People Magazine
WAFF 48

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.



Missing Person Photos

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