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.



Missing Person Photos

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

Shawn C. Hess
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Hess, date, approximate 2002
Date Missing 02/26/2002
Missing From
Brainerd, Minnesota
Missing Classification Lost/Injured Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Age 28 years old
Height and Weight 6'1, 175 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, green eyes. Hess's hair was shoulder-length at the time of his disappearance and he normally kept it pulled back into a ponytail. He has dimples in both cheeks, pierced ears, and tattoos on his back, his chest, both shoulders and both upper arms.
Details of Disappearance Hess was last seen in Brainerd, Minnesota on February 26, 2002. He was near Oak Street and south Eighth Street at the time of his disappearance. Witnesses said that Hess was walking in an east/southeast direction. He has never been heard from again. He may have been using drugs and alcohol at the time of his disappearance.
Hess's family members reported him as a missing person on February 28. His apartment in the 1100 block of south Sixth Street was untouched. He left all of his clothing, identification and medication inside of his residence. There has not been any activity within Hess's bank accounts since February 2002.
Authorities discovered a jacket matching the description of Hess's parka in May 2002, three months after he disappeared. The jacket was located near a swamp east of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad shops near Highways 210 and 25 in Brainerd. Pants, shoes and socks, and a shirt were also found scattered in the area, in a progressive path along the railroad tracks.
Investigators believe that Hess may have died as the result of hypothermia, which often causes victims to undress as the result of disorientation.
Authorities continued several extensive searches for Hess's remains, but no evidence was located. The terrain where they looked for him is so rough and covered with swamps and bogs that the searchers could have been within feet of Hess and not noticed.
His family members held a memorial service for him later in 2002 and hope to recover his body in the future.
Investigating Agency
Brainerd Police Department
218-829-2805
Other
The Brainerd Dispatch
The Citizen Observer
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.



Missing Person Photos

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