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
Sheila Ann Lopes
Lopes, date, approximate 2008
Date Missing 08/28/2008
Missing From
Escondido, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 10/16/1936 (85)
Age 71 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray cotton two-piece sweatsuit, a long-sleeved zippered teal-green shirt and matching pants, white canvas slip-on deck shoes, a gold bracelet on each wrist, a diamond wedding band, and a black pearl ring on her left hand.
Medical Conditions Lopes suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and is considered a dependent adult as a result. She'd been having symptoms of the illness for about five years by 2008. She is mostly lucid, however, and she's in good health physically.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Gray hair, blue eyes. Lopes has scars on both ears and a Cesarean section scar on her abdomen. She smokes cigarettes. She is originally from London, England and speaks with a slight British accent.
Details of Disappearance Lopes disappeared from her home in the 2100 block of Woodland Heights Glen in the 481-acre gated community of Emerald Heights in Escondido, California on August 28, 2008. Her husband saw her at home at about midnight.
At 10:30 a.m., she wandered into a home where her son used to live, about a twenty-minute walk away, and the new owner told her to leave. The owner called the police that afternoon, after she realized Lopes was missing. She has never been heard from again.
Lopes's niece's puppy was found on a nearby hill after Lopes vanished. It's possible she was taking the puppy for a walk early in the morning and got lost. She had wandered away from home before, but never for longer for several hours at a time. Her family planned to buy her a tracking device to wear, but she disappeared before they could get one. She is thought to have left on foot, as she has no access to a vehicle.
An extensive search of the neighborhood turned up no sign of her. The Emerald Heights community has security cameras at the only entrance gate, but the cameras didn't film her leaving. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Escondido Police Department
760-839-4719
Other
California Attorney General's Office
The North County Times
San Diego 6
NBC San Diego
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Escondido 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