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

Sharon Ann Martin


Martin, date, approximate 2006; John Homer Docherty IV
Date Missing 03/31/2006
Missing From
Pensacola, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/23/1950 (71)
Age 55 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 140 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes.
Details of Disappearance Martin was last seen in Pensacola, Florida on March 31, 2006. She was showing a man and woman an apartment she managed on on East Nine Mile Road that day. She called her husband at lunchtime. She has never been heard from again.
About a month after Martin disappeared, John Homer Docherty IV was arrested and charged with grand theft, forgery, fraud, and il use of a credit card. He'd used Martin's credit card at a local Wal-Mart several times after her disappearance, and he tried to cash a forged check in her name as well. He was a maintenance worker at an apartment complex Martin owned, and they had a close relationship; Martin's husband suspected they were lovers.
Authorities searched Docherty's apartment and found a piece of bloodstained carpet in the bedroom that matched Martin's DNA, as well as other possible blood traces. In November 2006, he was additionally charged with Martin's murder.
A photograph of Docherty is posted with this summary. A witness stated on the night of Martin's disappearance, he helped Docherty lift a heavy trash can into a dumpster. He said it "didn't feel right" and he even asked Docherty if the trash can contained a body. Docherty gave him $450 in cash after they'd put the can in the dumpster.
Another witness saw Docherty looking through the dumpster with a flashlight that same night. Police believe he may have removed Martin's body at that time and disposed of it elsewhere.
At his trial in 2008, Docherty's defense argued there was no proof Martin was dead and she might have left on her own. She had dropped out of sight for as long as eight months at a time before.
A jury convicted Docherty of manslaughter in February 2008, acquitting him of the more serious charge of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He maintains his innocence in Martin's presumed homicide. Docherty has a prior criminal record for theft-, fraud- and weapons-related charges. He is scheduled for release in 2021.
Martin is an Air Force veteran and former flight attendant. Investigators believe Docherty killed her to obtain her $2.5 million fortune. Her body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her disappearance due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Escambia County Sheriff's Office
850-433-7867
Other
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Pensacola News Journal
Florida Department of Corrections

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