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

Stephen Glynn Bovard


Bovard, date, approximate 1983; Bobby Joe Ferguson
Date Missing 01/31/1983
Missing From
Zachary, Louisiana
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/23/1962 (60)
Age 20 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gold chain and a white gold ring with a small diamond.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes.
Details of Disappearance Bovard was last seen at the home of a Zachary, Louisiana man, Bobby Joe Ferguson, on January 31, 1983. His parents, with whom he lived in the 17000 block of south Harrell's Ferry Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reported him missing after he didn't come home for several days.
He has never been heard from again. On February 3, his truck was found abandoned and burned in the Tunica Hills northwest of St. Francisville, Louisiana.
A week before he vanished, Bovard had been arrested on drug charges. Police confiscated twelve grams of cocaine, 53 Quaalude tablets, one and a half pounds of marijuana, a .357 magnum pistol, and $5,000 in cash. He was facing a minimum of ten years in prison if convicted, unless he chose to cooperate with the investigation.
Investigators believe Bovard is dead, and issued a warrant for Ferguson's arrest for second-degree murder in the , but Ferguson fled to avoid arrest. A photo of Ferguson is posted with this summary. Another suspect, Morris Ronald Allen, in March 1983 and charged with being an accessory to second-degree murder after the fact.
Allen told investigators that on February 4, he'd helped Ferguson dump a carpet-wrapped body, weighted with two tire rims, in the Atchafalaya River at Highway 190 near Krotz Springs. He didn't see whose body it was, but saw an arm and knew it was a human body.
Authorities searched the Atchafalaya River with sonar and found an object which they thought was a body, but conditions prevented divers from recovering it. When police checked Ferguson's home, there was bloody on the wall and ceiling, and a section of carpet had been cut out.
Bovard was employed as a mechanic with Odom Offshore Surveys at the time of his disappearance; he'd worked there about a year. The outcome of the murder is unknown, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office
225-389-5000
Other
The Doe Network
Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People
The Baton Rouge Advocate

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