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

Terri Lea Schlatter




Terri, date, approximate 1985
Date Missing 02/01/1985
Missing From
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 11/02/1963 (58)
Age 21 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair. Terri's maiden name is Yingst and she may use the last name Yingst and/or Yingst-Schlatter.
Details of Disappearance Terri was last seen in Tulsa, Oklahoma sometime in February 1985. She and her husband, Darrell Schlatter, lived there. Darrell was also from Indiana and at the time Terri met him, he was using a dead man's name and Social Security number.
Their marriage was troubled and they had both been charged with federal bank fraud. Terri came to the attention of the authorities after she fell behind in payments she was making on a boat. She told investigators her husband had dyed his hair gray and posed as her father to co-sign for the loan.
Terri fled after the indictment and was located in Colorado, where she had been working as an exotic dancer. She was arrested for prostitution and extradited to Oklahoma when Colorado police found out about the outstanding warrant. Terri agreed to cooperate with the authorities and testify against Darrell.
In January 1985, Terri sent her son, Nathan, to stay with her mother and stepfather in Springville, Indiana while she got her life together. The following month she came to get Nathan, against his grandparents' wishes, and took him back to Tulsa.
The day after she picked up Nathan, Terri called her mother to ask about some medication the child was taking. This was the last time Terri's family had contact with her.
That same month, Terri dropped Nathan off at a babysitter's for the day. Darrell came to pick him up and told the babysitter her services weren't needed anymore. This is the last time anyone saw either Nathan or his mother; neither of them were ever heard from again.
She had left Darrell before and he always tried to find her, but after her February 1985 disappearance, he seemed uninterested in locating her. Because of the outstanding fraud charges against her, for years after their disappearances, authorities considered Terri to be a fugitive from the law rather than a missing person.
In April 1993, Darrell was charged with killing a girlfriend, Erica Hartwick, who died in September 1992. Darrell claimed Hartwick had snagged her heel in a horse's stirrup and been dragged to death, but investigation showed she'd been murdered.
Investigators re-opened the investigation into Darrell's wife and son's disappearances after his arrest, and drained a local pond. The search turned up nothing, however. Darrell committed suicide by hanging himself in jail in June 1993.
Terri and Nathan's Social Security numbers haven't been used since they vanished in 1985. Foul play is suspected in their s, which remain unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Oklahoma State Police
Other
The Bloomington Herald Times
The Tulsa World
Facebook Page for Terri Yingst (Schlatter)

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