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
Stephen E. Smith
Smith, date, approximate 1982; Bernard Swaim
Date Missing 07/12/1982
Missing From
Cashmere, Washington
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Age 30 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male.
Details of Disappearance Smith was last seen at his home in Cashmere, Washington on July 12, 1982. His sister reported him missing on July 18. Several days later, his 1966 Pontiac Tempest was found abandoned on Dead Man's Hill Road near Dryden, Washington. He has never been heard from again.
On July 31, when Smith's family members were cleaning his home, they found large amounts of blood on a mattress, towel, sofa and an ax handle, as well as a broken tooth, later determined to be Smith's.
In March 2017, Bernard Edmund Swaim was charged with Smith's murder. Later that month, Dawn Soles, Swaim's ex-wife, was also charged with murder. Smith had full custody of their daughter and was described as a devoted father; Soles had supervised visitation once a month. Authorities believe she and Swaim conspired to murder Smith so she could get custody of the child. In an interview with police, Soles implicated both Swaim and herself in Smith's death.
A photo of Swaim is posted with this summary. Soles pleaded guilty to rendering criminal assistance and testified against him at his trial in September 2017, and his defense attacked her credibility, pointing out the conflicting statements she's given to authorities about Smith's disappearance. Much of the physical evidence had disappeared in the years since 1982. Swaim was acquitted of all charges.
Smith's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in his disappearance due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Chelan County Sheriff's Office
509-667-6842
Other
KXLY
The Yakima Herald
The Sky Valley Chronicle
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
