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
Virginia Alice Welch
Welch, date, approximate 1982; Age-progression to an unknown age
Date Missing 07/12/1982
Missing From
Roanoke, Virginia
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/15/1960 (62)
Age 22 years old
Height and Weight 5'7 - 5'8, 110 - 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A burgundy top, a leather vest, blue jeans and possibly rings on all her fingers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Welch has the following tattoos: a red rose on her right forearm, a hummingbird on her left breast, eagle wings on her right shoulder, a cobra snake on her hip, and a Confederate flag with the words "live to ride, ride to live" elsewhere on her body. She may use the first name Jenny.
Details of Disappearance Welch was last seen in Roanoke, Virginia on July 12, 1982. Shortly before her disappearance, she had moved to the southeast Roanoke area to live with a male roommate. She enlisted in the United States Army, but served for only a few months before being discharged for medical reasons.
Welch's boyfriend was involved with the Pagans, a motorcycle gang, and Welch disappeared shortly after some of the gang members were arrested in a drug raid. She may have been a federal informant.
She did have a history of engaging in drug activities to support herself, and she told her mother she was "in too deep." She kept a padlocked wooden box at home and told her mother it contained a letter which would explain everything if anything happened to her.
A week or two after Welch was last seen, her mother became concerned because she had not heard from her in three weeks and asked Welch's roommate where she was. The roommate said Welch had walked away from their residence, carrying a plastic bag, and had not returned.
Several weeks later, the police began investigating Welch's disappearance. Her mother went to open the locked wooden box, and discovered it had been broken open and the letter was missing.
Police stated Welch's roommate has been ruled out as a suspect in her disappearance, but her sister said his story was inconsistent and she thought he might have been involved. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Roanoke Police Department
540-853-5959
Other
Main Street Newspapers
The Doe Network
Virginia State Police
North American Missing Persons Network
WDBJ 7
NamUs
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