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
Rebecca Tompkins
Rebecca, date, approximate 1983; Desiree Tompkins; Royal Tompkins
Date Missing 11/20/1983
Missing From
Bossier City, Louisiana
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 09/04/1982 (40)
Age 1 year old
Height and Weight 2'0 - 2'5, 20 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair. Rebecca's nickname is Becky.
Details of Disappearance Rebecca was last seen with her mother, Desiree Tompkins, in Bossier City, Louisiana on November 20, 1983. Royal R. "Dick" Tompkins Jr., who is Rebecca's father and Desiree's husband, reported the two missing on November 25. Photos of Royal and Desiree are posted with this summary. The family lived in the 3300 block of east Texas Street.
On December 3, Desiree's nude body was found by hunters in a ditch on Rice Road near Greenwood, Louisiana. She had been stabbed to death. There was no indication of Rebecca's whereabouts and she has never been heard from again. Royal was subequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of both his wife and his daughter.
According to his confession, Royal and Desiree were arguing on the evening of November 20, and when Rebecca interrupted them with her crying, he flew into a rage and strangled the baby. When Desiree tried to defend her daughter by knocking Royal onto the ground next to his fishing equipment, he grabbed a fishing knife and stabbed her to death. He said he wrapped Rebecca's body in a blanket and put it in garbage bag, then put the bag in a dumpster.
Royal initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In March 1984, in order to avoid a possible death sentence, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to two of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In June of that year, however, Royal recanted his confession and said Rebecca was still alive. He said that prior to Desiree's murder, he had told her to get the baby from the babysitter, and she said she couldn't because Rebecca "wasn't ours anymore." He said he didn't know his daughter's current whereabouts and he only claimed he strangled her because the police didn't believe him when he said he didn't know where she was.
Authorities searched a landfill in Caddo Parish, Louisiana for two weeks, trying to find the baby's body, but it was never located. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Bossier City Police Department
318-741-8611
Other
NamUs
Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People
The Shreveport Journal
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
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
