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

Pilar Sophia Rodriguez










Pilar, date, approximate 1999; Age-progressions to age 11 (date, approximate 2006); Melissa Cooper (Jones); Keith Wilson; Marco Rodriguez
Date Missing 01/30/1999
Missing From
Hollywood, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 02/05/1995 (27)
Age 3 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 35 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Pilar has a red birthmark on the bridge of her nose.
Details of Disappearance Pilar's father, Marco Rodriguez, was her custodial parent in 1999. He permitted Pilar's babysitter, Melissa Cooper (often referred to in media accounts by her later married name, Melissa Jones or Harding-Jones), to take the child on vacation for two weeks on January 30, 1999.
Cooper took Pilar to the Trail Apartments in Punta Gorda, Florida, located approximately 135 miles from the Rodriguez home in Hollywood, Florida. Cooper's former boyfriend, a truck driver named Keith Allen Wilson, accompanied them. Photos of Marco, Wilson and Cooper are posted with this summary.
Marco called the authorities when Cooper and Pilar did not return by February 22, 1999. Cooper and Wilson did not have the child, and they initially claimed that Marco had picked her up. Wilson also said he had seen evidence that Marco had physically abused Pilar.
Police investigated Marco thoroughly but found no evidence that he was involved in his daughter's disappearance or that he abused her, though he does have a criminal record for battery and driving under the influence. Pilar has never been seen again.
Wilson later changed his story and claimed Cooper, an insulin-dependent diabetic, collapsed in a store and was hospitalized, and when she arrived back at the hotel room she shared with Pilar and Wilson, the child was missing. Cooper denied that any of this had actually happened.
Cooper was located at a her aunt's home in Wisconsin shortly after Marco filed a report with law enforcement. Cooper claimed that she fled from the vacation home she shared with Pilar and Wilson after her boyfriend became physically abusive towards her and the child.
Cooper said that Wilson punched Pilar with a closed fist and knocked her head into a wall. She turned blue and had convulsions, but Wilson refused to get medical attention for her because she had visible bruises from prior abuse and he was afraid he would get into trouble.
After Pilar died, he he put her body in a black trash bag and disposed of the child's remains in an unknown location.
Wilson denied Cooper's allegations and said she herself was responsible for Pilar's death.
Cooper took a polygraph exam shortly afterwards, but the results were inconclusive. She stated Wilson had been physically and mentally abusing her for years and also tortured her dog. She claimed didn't attempt summon a doctor or the police after Pilar was injured because she was afraid.
Officials drained Preacher's Lake, a popular swimming place in Charlotte County, Florida which is inhabited by alligators, in November 1999 after receiving a tip from fishermen. They found some unspecified biological matter which they believe is a trace of Pilar's remains. After the discovery, they announced that they were investigating her as a homicide.
Police also found several child-size t-shirts in the lake, including one with a picture of the cartoon character Winnie the Pooh printed on it. Marco said Pilar had such a shirt with her when she left with Cooper. Nothing else of evidentiary value was found in the lake, however. The Peace River in Charlotte County was searched in February 2001, but no evidence was located.
Wilson was considered the prime suspect in Pilar's disappearance for years, but it was Cooper who was charged with aggravated manslaughter in Pilar's in August 2010. She lived in Washington state at the time. The arrest warrant alleged that Cooper failed to protect Pilar from injury at the hands of someone else, thereby causing her death through "culpable negligence."
In July 2013, Cooper reached a plea agreement with prosecutors: she pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder, and agreed to testify against Wilson. He was arrested in Kentucky and charged with first-degree murder.
Wilson was tried for Pilar's murder in the autumn of 2017. He, Cooper and Marco all testified, as did another witness, Jesse Clapham, who said he saw Pilar's body wrapped in a blanket in the trunk of a car, with her foot sticking out. Clapham stated Wilson subsequently told him the police would never find Pilar's body because he'd placed it in a septic tank.
In October, after the jury deliberated for three hours, he was convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. Cooper faces up to 30 years in prison for being an accessory after the fact.
Pilar's body has never been found. Foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office
941-639-2101
Other
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education Of America
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Palm Beach Post
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
The Tallahassee Democrat
The Miami Herald
Missing Children Center Inc.
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office
The News Chief
The Sun and Weekly Herald
The Sarasota Herald Tribune
King 5
WVZN-HD
NBC-2
WINK 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