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
Shannon Lynn Fischer
Fischer, date, approximate 2006; Michael John Burroughs
Date Missing 12/18/2006
Missing From
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/04/1983 (39)
Age 23 years old
Height and Weight 5'3, 140 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly a black coat and size 8.5 shoes. Possibly carrying a black suit.
Medical Conditions Fischer told her mother she was pregnant in late November 2006, but this has not been confirmed.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Fischer may wear eyeglasses.
Details of Disappearance Fischer was last seen at approximately 4:00 p.m. on December 18, 2006 at her boyfriend's residence in the vicinity of the 200 block of east Blackhawk Avenue in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Her boyfriend, Michael John Burroughs, stated they had an argument and he told her he wanted to end the relationship and demanded that she leave his apartment.
She has never been heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she did not have a job, a vehicle, a driver's license or a permanent address. She relied on friends and family for housing and transportation, and moved frequently, keeping her belongings in a tote bag and a small duffel bag.
Fischer's parents notified authorities of her disappearance on December 28. They became concerned because she had not contacted them over the Christmas holidays. Her disappearance is described as completely out of character and her parents do not believe she would have left of her own accord. They described her as a naive, childlike, immature and easily suggestible young woman.
Fischer has two young children who were in foster care at the time of her disappearance. She went missing once before, in 2004, when she abruptly moved to Iowa to be with the man who fathered her first child.
However, in that instance she told friends of her travel plans, and she called her mother a short time after arriving in Iowa. Fischer has not had contact with any of her loved ones since her 2006 disappearance, and had not mentioned a wish to leave the area.
A major break in the came in October 2010, when Burroughs went to police and confessed to Fischer's murder. A photograph of him is posted with this summary. Prior to the confession, authorities had stated they believed foul play was involved in Fischer's disappearance but they didn't consider anyone she knew a suspect.
Burroughs stated he had strangled Fischer to death after she stole a bag of drugs from him. He kept her body in a closet in his apartment for several days, then dumped it in a garbage bin behind the building.
Burroughs was charged with first-degree reckless homicide. In January 2011, he was declared incompetent to stand trial due to a delusional disorder. He was held in a state psychiatric hospital until his competency was restored, and in January 2012, he pleaded no contest to the charge against him. He was sentenced to 31 years in prison.
Foul play is suspected in Fischer's disappearance due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Prairie du Chien Police Department
608-326-2421
866-799-7297
Other
NamUs
Midwest News
WKBT 8
WEAU 13
WBAY-TV
The La Crosse Tribune
The Dubuque Telegraph Herald
WMTV
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