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
Michelle Ellis
Ellis, date, approximate 1978
Date Missing 08/02/1978
Missing From
Indianapolis, Indiana
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Black
Date of Birth 10/20/1954 (67)
Age 23 years old
Height and Weight 5'4, 115 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue jeans, a gray sweater with multicolored stripes and blue or black cuffs, and white sneakers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance Ellis was last seen leaving her home in Indianapolis, Indiana at 8:00 a.m. on August 2, 1978. At 9:00 a.m., her red 1973 Oldsmobile Omega was found in the 3700 block of Fall Creek Parkway, out of gas, about half a block from a service station.
The driver's side door was locked, but the passenger door was open. Inside the vehicle was Ellis's car keys and her purse, which contained her driver's license, identification, checkbook, credit cards and $2 in cash.
Ellis was part-time model and a student at the Herron School of Art at Indiana-Purdue University at the time of her disappearance. She had worked as a cashier in the automotive department at a Sears store at Castleton Square, but she quit on July 28 and never picked up her last paycheck. She lived with her parents in the 3700 block of north Drexel.
On December 11, 1980, two years and four months after her disappearance, Ellis's parents got a phone call from someone who said "This is Michelle." The caller then hung up and never called back. It hasn't been verified that the caller was in fact Ellis. She has never been heard from again; her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Indianapolis Police Department
317-327-6915
Other
NamUs
The Indianapolis Star
The Franklin Daily Journal
Indiana Missing Persons Bulletin
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