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 Photos
Nikole Betterson
Nikole, date, approximate 1977
Date Missing 12/01/1977
Missing From
Dearborn, Michigan
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Biracial, Black, White
Age 2 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Biracial (African-American/Caucasian) female. Brown hair.
Details of Disappearance Nikole's mother, Susan Klingel, was killed in a car accident in September 1977. Nikole and her father, Jarrett Betterson, were also in the accident but were not seriously injured. Jarrett and Klingel never married and shortly after her death he began dating another woman.
Klingel's parents last saw Nikole at around Christmastime in 1977. Jarrett announced that he and his new girlfriend, Barbara, were moving West. There were conflicting accounts as to whether their intended destination was California or Las Vegas, Nevada. The Klingels never heard from any of them again.
In 1997, the Klingels hired a private investigator to locate Nikole. The investigator found Jarrett and Barbara, who were now married, living in poverty and poor health in Las Vegas, but there was no trace of Nikole and no paper trail for her whatsoever, except her Social Security orphan's benefits, which her father picked up every month until Nikole turned 18.
The private investigator contacted the Las Vegas police department, which opened an investigation, checking school, court, police, licensure and adoption records. Their investigation turned up no evidence that Nikole was alive after she left Michigan.
In November 1997, a Las Vegas police detective visited Jarrett. He lied, claiming he knew what happened to Nikole, and promised them leniency if Jarrett told the whole story. Jarrett promised to contact the detective within a short time and confess what happened to his daughter. Ten days later, he called the detective and asked for more time. Jarrett never contacted the police again. He shot his wife to death and then himself.
Before her death, Barbara mailed a letter to Nikole's grandmother asking for forgiveness "all the wounds we have put in your hearts with our tragic and youthful blunders." She included a money order for $900 to pay for her and Jarrett's cremations.
Jarrett and Barbara's deaths have stalled the investigation into Nikole's disappearance, as without their involvement authorities have no evidence that a crime was even committed. Foul play is suspected in Nikole's ; it remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Las Vegas Police Department
702-229-3111
Other
The Las Vegas Review-Journal
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 Photos
