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

Sherri Vanessa Holland







Holland, date, approximate 1996
Date Missing 08/16/1996
Missing From
Flagler Beach, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/09/1962 (60)
Age 34 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 115 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Champagne- or gold-colored 1987 BMW 325I with Georgia license plates numbered BKT664 (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Holland has a scar on her left arm. Her ears are pierced. Holland had cosmetic facial surgery in 1995. Some agencies may refer to her as Vanessa Sherri Holland.
Details of Disappearance Holland resided on Peachtree Battle Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. She also owned a vacation home in Flagler Beach, Florida at the time.
Holland was planning to return to Atlanta from her Florida residence on August 16, 1996. She was last seen between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. as she departed from her Flagler Beach home. She never arrived in Georgia as scheduled and has not been heard from again.
Holland's sisters filed a missing person's report in Georgia shortly after she failed to return home. Authorities checked her residence and noted that there were few personal belongings inside the house. Her sisters and her boyfriend had keys to her Georgia home in 1996; all of them stated that they did not enter the residence after Holland's disappearance.
Holland's champagne- or gold-colored 1987 BMW 325I with Georgia license plates numbered BKT664 was found abandoned on August 25, 1996, eight days after she was last seen. The car was located on the northbound side of Interstate 75 in Morrow, Georgia, just south of Highway 54. It was parked near Exit 76 between Macon, Georgia and Atlanta. It had a nail in the right side front tire, which was flat.
Both of Holland's dogs were found in a field near the Stratford Arms apartment complex in Riverdale, Georgia after her disappearance. This was two miles from where her car was found. One of them had been killed in traffic, but the other, named Gracie, was rescued and given to Holland's sister.
Several witnesses told authorities that Gracie had periodically walked along Valley Hill Road and Upper Riverdale Road during that time. One of the complex's residents said that Gracie attempted to lead him towards a wooded area across the street from the apartments. Investigators searched the location, but no evidence pertaining to Holland's was discovered.
Authorities received an anonymous tip that Holland was seen near her BMW on Interstate 75 on the day she disappeared. The informant claimed that Holland was loading luggage into a white pickup truck at the time. Investigators searched the area where her car was abandoned, but no evidence was located. The sighting has never been confirmed.
Holland operated an escort service in 1996. Authorities interviewed her business partner after Holland vanished. Her associate stated that the service had been in existence since 1992.
The individual told investigators that he believed Holland had been murdered as the result of her business ventures. Authorities noted that her partner spoke of her in the past tense during their interview. The individual said that Holland had made several enemies in the past.
Holland allegedly placed hidden video cameras around the escort service's property. She reportedly recorded her employees and clients in compromising situations, then used the materials to blackmail the individuals. Holland's partner said that he heard several people discuss murdering her prior to her disappearance.
Holland had been involved with her married boyfriend since 1989. He told authorities that he separated from his wife briefly in 1990, but they had since reconciled. Holland and her boyfriend had apparently planned to marry by December 1996, but he was having second thoughts at the time of her disappearance and remained married to his wife.
Holland's boyfriend told investigators that he and Holland argued about the state of their relationship before she left for her Flagler Beach home in August 1996. She left her residence in Georgia while the matter was still un.
Her boyfriend stated that Holland paged him at approximately 11:30 a.m. on the day she disappeared. He called her back and she said she would phone him after she arrived in Atlanta. Holland's boyfriend said that he never heard from her again. He also said that he did not believe his wife was aware of their affair.
Several of Holland's friends told authorities that she was depressed over her relationship and was tiring of the escort business in August 1996. She reportedly mentioned traveling to Europe to escape the situation. A source came forward with a recorded phone conversation between one of Holland's sisters and an unidentified person in September 1996. During the conversation, her sister said that it was possible that Holland went abroad and essentially staged her own disappearance.
Authorities do not know if Holland left of her own accord or if other circumstances were involved in her . Her disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Morrow Police Department
770-960-3003
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
770-388-5019
Other
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Million Dollar Mysteries
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
The Doe Network

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