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
Senovia Medina
Medina, date, approximate 2006; Miguel Antonio Martinez
Date Missing 01/05/2006
Missing From
Houston, Texas
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 03/26/1968 (54)
Age 37 years old
Height and Weight 4'10, 105 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A baby-blue blouse and blue jeans.
Medical Conditions Medina was three months pregnant when she went missing.
Associated Vehicle(s) White 1995 Isuzo Rodeo SUV with the Texas license plate number X13HVJ (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Medina's ears are pierced. She is a native of El Salvador.
Details of Disappearance Medina was last seen on January 5, 2006, when she left her mother's Austin, Texas home to run errands. She never returned and has never been heard from again.
Her live-in boyfriend found her white 1995 Isuzo Rodeo SUV with the Texas license plate number X13HVJ several days after her disappearance, abandoned behind a gas station near Memorial Drive and the 610 West Loop. This location is far from Medina's home and not along a route she would have normally taken. The SUV's license plates were missing when it was located.
Medina's live-in boyfriend, Miguel Antonio Martinez, is the father of the child she was carrying at the time of her disappearance. A photo of Martinez is posted with this summary. He was long considered a person of interest in her , and he failed two polygraph tests. He also boxed up all her belongings within days of her disappearance.
Medina had reportedly planned to leave Martinez and went to a real estate agent about finding another home. Martinez was arrested on a weapons charge in May 2011; he had several il handmade gun silencers in his home. He was subsequently charged with Medina's murder.
In a statement to authorities, Martinez said he and Medina were at home when she accused him of infidelity and attacked him with a letter opener, and when he pushed her in self-defense, she hit her head against the shower and died in spite of his attempts at CPR. He said he got "confused" and panicked afterwards, wrapped her body in a garbage bag and disposed of it in a rural area.
He said he returned to the dump site three times to try to find the body and bury it, but was unable to locate it. Authorities launched their own search for Medina's body in the area Martinez indicated, but they found nothing.
In court, after a judge refused to suppress Martinez's confession, he pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. He could have gotten a life sentence if convicted at trial. Martinez later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but this was refused.
Medina was employed as a housekeeper at the time of her disappearance. She was born and raised in El Salvador and fled in 1988, during that country's civil war. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Houston Police Department
713-731-5877
Other
Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas EquuSearch
KHOU 11 News
Click 2 Houston
North American Missing Persons Network
The Houston Chronicle
The Austin American-Statesman
Houston Police Department
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