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
Peter John McColl
Peter, date, approximate 1995; Age-progression to age 30 (date, approximate 2009)
Date Missing 08/28/1995
Missing From
Berkeley, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/30/1979 (43)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 6'0, 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A light gray t-shirt with "Berkeley Crew" imprinted on the front, a light gray sweatshirt with "US Rowing" imprinted on the front, size L or XL black jeans and Dr. Marten's boots.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Peter has slight scarring near the tip of his right pinky finger and he has previously fractured his left forearm/elbow. He is extremely nearsighted with 20/400 vision. He was wearing his contact lenses with him at the time of his disappearance and did not carry his eyeglasses. Peter may wear his hair tied back in a ponytail. He has heavy eyebrows and may have a mustache, beard or a goatee. Peter's nickname is Rainbow. He may have a tattoo of a skull on his upper left arm.
Details of Disappearance Peter was last seen departing from his family's residence near The Alameda in Berkeley, California at approximately 11:00 a.m. on August 28, 1995. He told his brother that he planned to walk to the bus stop and take a bus to Cody's Bookstore near Salon Avenue and Telegraph Avenue.
Peter never returned home and has not been heard from again. His wallet was discovered after his disappearance, but his identification cards were missing. He left $100 in cash behind in his room. He had just passed his driver's test, but hadn't gotten his license yet; it arrived in the mail a few weeks after he disappeared.
The driver of the AC Transit bus 43, near the corner of Redwood Road and 35th Street in Berkeley, claims Peter asked him directions to Montclair, California on the day of his disappearance. He appeared to have a prearranged meeting with an unidentified teenaged boy whom the bus driver also saw. The boy was 16 to 18 years old with blond hair, well-dressed, accented speech. The boy has never been identified and the bus driver's sighting about Peter has not been confirmed.
A cab driver claims he drove a young man fitting Peter's description, and a teenaged girl with red-streaked hair, to the airport to catch a Southwest Airlines flight shortly after Peter disappeared. This sighting has not been confirmed either and inquiries at the airline have not turned up any relevant information.
It is unclear whether Peter left of his accord. He may have traveled to Oregon, Florida, Louisiana or Washington after his disappearance. Peter is a guitar player and served as a rower on his high school's crew team. He enjoyed hiking along the trails of Tilden Park and riding his mountain bike in the Berkeley Hills, and he also liked music and poetry.
An extensive search of the area produced no clues as to Peter's whereabouts. He was an honors student in 1995, and disappeared only a week before the start of his junior year at Berkeley High School.
Peter's family members said that he did not place any unusual phone calls and wasn't behaving strangely prior to his disappearance; on the contrary, he appeared to be happy with his life. It is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning, and he was not carrying any additional clothing or money when he vanished.
There were several religious groups recruiting on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, where Peter's father was then a professor, at the time of his disappearance. Peter is described as a deep-thinking, spiritual person, and his parents looked into the possibility that he had joined one of the groups, but they could find no evidence to support this theory.
Peter's parents now live in Poulsbo, Washington, where they run a foster care facility for troubled teens. His sister lives in Seattle, Washington and his brother lives in San Diego, California. Peter's remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Berkeley Police Department
510-644-6743
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Polly Klaas Foundation
California Attorney General's Office
Berkeley Boy Scout Troop 24 Home Page
Child Protection Education of America
The Daily Californian
Child CyberSearch
The San Francisco Chronicle
The Oakland Tribune
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 Photos
