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
Melissa Moreland
Moreland, date, approximate 1987
Date Missing 10/23/1987
Missing From
Paw Paw, West Virginia
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 21 years old
Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'5, 105 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white blouse, blue jeans, high-top sneakers, a Hampshire High School class of 1984 ring and a watch with a burgundy band.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Light brown hair, green eyes.
Details of Disappearance Moreland was last seen at the now-defunct High's gas station in Paw Paw, West Virginia late in the evening on October 23, 1987. When she'd left her father's home that day, her parents thought she was going to spend the night with a friend. She has never been heard from again. Because she had a history of leaving home from time to time, she wasn't immediately reported missing.
In November 1985, almost two years prior to her disappearance, Moreland was attacked by Dwight David Blair. He also assaulted another woman. Both females testified against him in court. He was charged with sexual abuse and assault, but reached a plea agreement with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.
Blair was sentenced to a year in jail; he could have faced a six- to forty-year prison term if convicted of the original charges. He was pardoned and released only four months into his sentence. Moreland disappeared several months later. It isn't clear whether her disappearance is related to the prior assault or whether Blair is a suspect in her .
Moreland lived with her parents near Paw Paw at the time of her disappearance. Her father has since died. Little information is available in her , but authorities believe she's deceased.
Investigating Agency
Morgan County Sheriff's Department
304-258-1067
Other
The Tri-State Herald-Mail
NamUs
Unsolved Appalachia
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