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
Robert Albert Ahtonen
Ahtonen at age 17 (date, approximate 1967, about 13 years before his disappearance; more recent photos are unavailable); Sketch of Ahtonen as he appeared at the time of his 1980 disappearance; Age-progression to age 53 (date, approximate 2002)
Date Missing 01/21/1980
Missing From
Newberry, Michigan
Missing Classification Lost/Injured Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/14/1949 (72)
Age 30 years old
Height and Weight 5'8 - 5'11, 135 - 150 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gold-tone watch.
Medical Conditions Ahtonen has been diagnosed with epilepsy, an organic brain disease, and mild chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia, and needs medication to control his seizures. He is also mentally disabled, with an IQ of 67. He functions at the level of a seven- to eight-year-old and cannot care for himself. He talks to imaginary persons and has difficulty following directions.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Sandy brown hair, blue eyes. Ahtonen's teeth are severely crooked and overcrowded, and he has a double set of eyeteeth which protrude outwards. His left hand has previously been fractured and he has scars on both pinky fingers.
Details of Disappearance Ahtonen was a patient at Newberry Regional Mental Facility in 1980. His aunt was going to pick him up for a home visit on January 21, but was delayed by a snowstorm. When the storm subsided and she arrived at the facility, she discovered that Ahtonen had walked off the grounds during the blizzard and not returned.
The staff at the facility realized he was missing at 4:00 p.m. when they were supposed to give him his medication, but they didn't notify police until 7:30 p.m. He has never been heard from again. Temperatures in the area dropped to 11 degrees that night.
Ahtonen was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended public school through the eighth grade. He exhibited behavior problems from a young age, which worsened after his mother's death in 1966. When he was seventeen, his father was killed in a car accident, and for three months he lived alone in a cabin adjacent to his aunt's home, but he was unable to function on his own, and his extended family couldn't care for him. In the years following his father's death he stayed in various state mental health facilities and group homes.
His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Marquette County Sheriff's Office
906-225-8435
Other
The Doe Network
Michigan Does
NamUs
The Green Bay Press-Gazette
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
