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

William Farris Goodmon




Goodmon, date, approximate 1988
Date Missing 06/27/1988
Missing From
Polk City, Florida
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/06/1932 (90)
Age 56 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 125 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A red and white checkered button-down shirt, navy blue work pants and light brown western-style boots.
Medical Conditions Goodmon had suffered a stroke about a year before his disappearance and was in poor health. He had a severe cough and was depressed. Several months before his disappearance, he injured his nose and required medical treatment.
Associated Vehicle(s) Brown 1974 Ford Thunderbird with a maroon hood, a dark brown vinyl top and the Florida license plate number 746-AZJ (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Goodmon is a heavy smoker. He has a mustache.
Details of Disappearance Goodmon was left his home in Polk City, Florida at 6:45 a.m. on June 27, 1988. He was reported missing when he failed to show up for work at his business, Day's Lawn Mower in Lakeland, Florida. He usually opened the store at 7:30 a.m. His daughter, who worked at the store, arrived with other employees at 8:00 a.m. and he wasn't there.
A clerk at Grandma's Pantry, a convenience store at State Road 33 and Mount Olive Road north of Lakeland, sold Goodmon beer and cigarettes at 9:00 a.m. the day of his disappearance. She recognized him because he was a regular customer. This is the last reported sighting of him; he has never been heard from again.
The .357 magnum Ruger handgun Goodmon normally carried with him has never been found. There was no activity on his financial accounts after his disappearance, the accounts at his business showed no money missing, and he didn't normally carry large amounts of cash.
Goodmon's vehicle was found abandoned in a rural area in Manatee County, Florida two months after he vanished. It had been partially stripped and vandalized, and was full of garbage. The car is described as a brown 1974 Ford Thunderbird with a maroon hood, a dark brown vinyl top and the Florida license plate number 746-AZJ. Authorities determined it had been there since late June, but it wasn't towed until August.
In 1993, Goodmon was declared ly dead. He lived with his wife and his eight-year-old grandson on Massachusetts Avenue in Lakeland at the time of his disappearance. He was very protective of his grandson and his family doesn't believe he would have willingly abandoned the child. Goodmon's remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Polk County Sheriff's Office
863-298-6200
Other
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Lakeland Ledger
The Doe Network
NamUs
Tampa Bay Online

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