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
Pamela J. Butler
Butler, date, approximate 2009; Jose Rodriguez-Cruz
Date Missing 02/12/2009
Missing From
Washington D.C., Washington D.C.
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Black
Age 47 years old
Height and Weight 5'3, 120 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A brown jacket, a brown skirt and brown heeled shoes. Carrying a black bag.
Associated Vehicle(s) Gray Mercedes-Benz and gold Jaguar (both accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Butler has a black tattoo cover-up on her left shoulder. Her ears and navel are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Butler was last seen talking to her boyfriend, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, at her home in the 5800 block of 4th Street northwest in Washington D.C. at 9:48 p.m. on February 12, 2009. The following day she sent two emails, one to her employer and one to a relative. She has never been heard from again.
Butler was very concerned about personal safety and her residence has a sophisticated security system with an alarm, motion-activated floodlights and surveillance cameras positioned at all the exits. She kept the home in a very neat, clean condition.
Authorities searched her home after her disappearance and found no evidence of foul play. She left behind her vehicles, a gray Mercedes-Benz and a gold Jaguar, but her purse, credit card, driver's license and keys disappeared with her.
Jose stated Butler broke up with him on the evening of February 13. They met through an internet dating website and had been together for five months. He said the split was amicable, but sudden, and he didn't understand why Butler wanted to the end the relationship.
The surveillance videos show him leaving the house at 11:30 p.m. on February 13. He was filmed coming in and out of Butler's house three times in the days following her disappearance. He says he was removing his belongings from the home and dropping off other items; this would be consistent with the video, which showed him carrying bags away.
The video didn't show Butler leaving the house; the last time she was filmed was on the evening of February 12, when she went out to get her mail, then came back inside.
Jose initially cooperated with the investigation and allowed the police to question him and search his home. Authorities focused on him as a possible suspect. They impounded his car and some other belongings and questioned him aggressively. He agreed to take a polygraph, but then refused and walked out just before the exam was to begin. Following that incident, he ceased cooperating, saying he felt he was being railroaded by overzealous police officers.
Jose had some prior minor run-ins with the law, but no serious criminal record and has never served time in jail. Butler's relatives, including a nephew who lived with her off and on during the relationship, said she and Jose seemed happy and got along well, with only minor arguments. They said they had no idea she was planning to break up with him.
In April 2017, Jose was charged with Butler's murder. Investigators stated they had uncovered evidence of domestic violence in his background. A photo of Jose is posted with this summary. He was given a general discharge from the Army prior to his disappearance because of instability, and he had twice previously threatened to harm his female boss.
Jose's first wife, Marta "Haydee" Rodriguez, disappeared from Arlington, Virginia on May 26, 1989. She had accused him of domestic violence and they were estranged when she went missing.
The missing persons report was canceled in 2000 after police supposedly made contact with Haydee in Florida, but authorities subsequently learned the Florida woman they'd spoken to was in fact Jose's second wife's sister and she'd impersonated Haydee, using Haydee's date of birth and other identifying information which Jose supplied to her.
In October 2017, Jose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Pamela's and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. He admitted that he beat and strangled her to death after an argument about his unemployment. He lead authorities to a place where he said he dumped her body, but the area has since been paved and investigators don't know if Butler's body is recoverable.
In June 2018, Haydee's body was identified. Her body was found along Interstate 95 in February 1991, about a mile from where Jose would later dispose of Butler's body. In October 2019, over a year after Haydee's body was identified, Jose was charged with first-degree murder and the unlawful concealment of her body. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November 2020, and in April 2021, he was sentenced to forty years in prison.
Butler had a bachelor's degree in information technology and a master's degree in public administration from American University. Her single, brief marriage ended amicably in the 1990s. At the time of her disappearance, she was employed as a computer systems analyst with the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She earned a six-figure salary with the EPA, and supplemented her income with real estate investments.
Butler was stressed over financial problems at the time of her disappearance; her investments had declined in value due to the bad economy. She kept in close contact with her family and had a regular routine and an orderly life, and it's uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning.
Foul play is suspected in Butler's disappearance due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Metropolitan Police Department
202-727-9099
Other
Metropolitan Police Department
MyFox DC
WTOP 103.5 FM
NewsChannel 8
WUSA 9
The Washington Post
NamUs
WJLA 7
The Daily Mail
Telemundo Puerto Rico
Fox 5 DC
The Daily Beast
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
