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
Pegye Jann Bechler
Pegye, date, approximate 1997; Eric Bechler; The Bechlers' boat
Date Missing 07/07/1997
Missing From
Newport Beach, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/02/1959 (63)
Age 38 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 130 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes. Pegye's maiden name is Marshall. She had an athletic build in 1997. She may wear tinted contact lenses, and her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Pegye and her husband, Eric Christopher Bechler, rented an 18-foot powerboat and went for a sail in the Pacific Ocean off Newport Beach, California on July 7, 1997, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Photographs of of Eric and the boat are posted with this summary. He was later found alone, clinging to a body board in the water and screaming for help.
Eric said Pegye had been in the boat and he had been towed behind on the body board when he slipped under the water. When Eric resurfaced, Pegye was no longer in the boat and he assumed she had been swept off by a wave. At the time he was rescued the boat was found nearby, running in circles. Pegye's remains were not recovered, but she was presumed to have drowned.
Eric and Pegye got along well and had three children together, but he drank heavily and was frequently unfaithful. The police were also called to their home twice for domestic disputes; no charges were filed in either incident.
The Bechlers had founded Geri Care Rehabilitation, a retirement services company, and ran it together, but both of them were fired in March 1997 for alleged misconduct and misuse of company funds. The company had made Eric and Pegye very wealthy, but the Bechlers were having financial trouble by 1997 and were also under investigation for alleged Medicare fraud. Eric took out an insurance policy worth over two million dollars on Peggy's life shortly before the boat trip, but was unable to collect on it afterwards.
Although investigators and many people who knew the Bechlers had strong suspicions of murder from the beginning, Eric was not arrested until October 1999. He began dating an actress and bikini model, Tina New, a few months after Pegye disappeared. New was contacted by police and agreed to wear a recording device on her body. While both of them were under the influence of alcohol and the drug Ecstasy, Eric made incriminating statements about Pegye's alleged murder to New. The taped confession led to his arrest and was used against him at his trial.
Prosecutors stated that Eric beat Pegye to death with two 35-pound dumbbells, then tossed her body overboard, weighted by the dumbbells. The dumbbells were missing from the Bechler residence when police searched it. Eric's best friend testified that Eric had planned to kill his wife and dump her body in the ocean. The purpose of her murder was to get life insurance money.
When confronted with the evidence, Eric still maintained that Pegye had drowned in a boating accident. He said he had made up the murder confession to impress New. No traces of Pegye's blood were found on the boat they had rented for the day, which is inconsistent with the statements Eric made to New.
Eric was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. His supporters set up a website proclaiming his innocence; they stated Eric had been unfairly convicted and Pegye may be alive and living in Spain, Australia or Morocco.
Eric remains in prison and all of his appeals have been denied. Pegye's remains have never been found.
Investigating Agency
Newport Beach Police Department
Other
The Light
CrimeNews2000
Orange County Alternative News Weekly
Court TV
The North County Times
Free Bechler
The Los Angeles Times
Bonnie's Blog of Crime
NBC News
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
