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

Mitchell Deon Owens


Mitchell, date, approximate 1983; Age-progression to age 33 (date, approximate 2011)
Date Missing 02/03/1983
Missing From
Menlo Park, California
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Male
Race
Black
Date of Birth 11/21/1978 (43)
Age 4 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 40 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Mitchell has a scar on the upper portion of his nose. He has a surgical scar on his left rib area. Mitchell has a lazy right eyelid. Some agencies give his middle name as "Deshaun" or "Deshon." He may use the first name Michael.
Two of the boys slept through the assault, but Mitchell woke up and walked into the room while the beating was taking place. Ora screamed at him to run away. The attacker than attempted to strangle Ora with a telephone cord and she passed out and was apparently left for dead.
Neighbors found her the next day and she was taken to the hospital, where she regained consciousness. She had to spend weeks in the hospital recovering from her ordeal. Mitchell has never been heard from again.
Ora only caught a glimpse of her son's abductor. She believes her attacker may have been a man she'd met the previous night at the Enlisted Men's Club at Moffett Field Naval Air Station in Mountain View, California. He offered to buy her a drink, but she declined and walked away. She thinks the man followed her home and then drove away when she reached her door.
The man has never been identified. He is described as 6'0 tall with brown hair, blue eyes, a mustache and tattoos on his arms. He was approximately 25 years old in 1983.
Another possible suspect is a man who knocked on Ora's door just a few hours before the break-in. He identified himself as a police officer and was in uniform, and asked about a report she'd made about a stolen purse the month before. The Menlo Park Police Department has no record of any of their officers stopping by the Owens home on that date.
Ora received telephone calls for years following his disappearance from an unidentified male. The caller repeatedly threatened to abduct her other two sons. It is not known if the calls are related to Mitchell's disappearance.
Authorities stated that they hoped current forensic technology which was unavailable in 1983 could help solve Mitchell's abduction and the assault on Ora. She has criticized the police investigation, stating investigators did not look hard enough for Mitchell because the family is African-American and poor. Inexplicably, the local police at first listed Mitchell as a runaway juvenile and refused to take action to find him.
Ora's attacker has never been identified and Mitchell has never been located.
Investigating Agency
Menlo Park Police Department
650-858-3308
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
The San Jose Mercury News
Newspaper Archive
Operation Lookout
NewsLibrary
CBS 5
The San Jose Mercury News

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