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
Susan Anne Swedell
Swedell, date, approximate 1988; Age-progression to age 48 (date, approximate 2016); Sketch of unidentified man
Date Missing 01/19/1988
Missing From
Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 02/13/1968 (54)
Age 19 years old
Height and Weight 5'4, 100 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A short skirt, a sweater, a black down jacket and earrings.
Associated Vehicle(s) Maroon 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Sandy brown hair, hazel eyes. Swedell's ears are pierced. Her nickname is Sue. She has had extensive dental work. Swedell wears eyeglasses; she's very nearsighted and wouldn't be able to see well without them.
Details of Disappearance Swedell was employed at the K-Mart retail store in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota in 1988. She phoned her family members from work at 4:00 p.m. on January 19, 1988.
Swedell said that she planned to go straight home after her shift ended to watch a movie. She changed into a short skirt before she departed from work, which was considered odd due to the snowy conditions at the time.
Swedell's vehicle, a maroon 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass, overheated during her drive to her residence. She stopped at a gasoline station at the corner of Manning Avenue north and Highway 5, approximately one mile from her home in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The attendant allowed her to park her car at the establishment.
The employee told authorities that Swedell entered a vehicle driven by an unidentified male shortly afterwards. The man appeared to have been waiting for Swedell near the station. He is described as having shoulder-length curly sandy brown hair and a well-built physique.
The witness said that the man was tall and was unshaven, and wore a leather jacket. A sketch of him is posted with this summary. His vehicle was a light-colored older model car with sport wheels; it was in good shape, but was dirty. Swedell never returned home and has not been heard from again.
When authorities searched Swedell's car, they found her driver's license, purse and eyeglasses inside it. Swedell's mother had the vehicle towed to a repair shop. Mechanics discovered the petcock on the radiator had been loosened, and the car had no water in it, which explains why it overheated.
Investigators theorized someone loosened the petcock deliberately and followed Swedell's car, waiting for it to malfunction so they could offer her a ride.
Swedell's mother believes her daughter came back to their apartment a few days after her disappearance. She stated there was an odor of a sweetish-smelling smoke in the residence and dirty dishes in the sink, and the house's spare key had been moved.
The red pantsuit Swedell had been wearing on the day of her disappearance, before she changed into her skirt, was found balled up under her bed. There was no sign of Swedell herself at the home, however, and nothing was missing. It's unclear whether she was ever actually there.
Swedell attended the University of Wisconsin at River Falls for two semesters after she graduated Stillwater High School, but she decided she was not ready to live away from home and returned to live with her mother and younger sister.
She worked two part-time jobs at the time of her disappearance, and was active at Christ Lutheran Church, where she sang in the choir and played hand bells.
Swedell had been using telephone chat lines to talk to boys in the weeks prior to her disappearance. She had also been receiving telephone calls at work from a man named Dale. It is not known if the person is connected to her disappearance. Swedell's family describes her as bubbly and sociable but very naive.
Authorities detected activity on Swedell's Social Security number in 2006, but it turned out to be a of identity theft. Foul play is suspected in Swedell's .
Investigating Agency
Washington County Sheriff's Office
651-430-7810
651-430-7850
Other
Missing Children Minnesota
The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
NamUs
Washington County Sheriff's Office
The Doe Network
The Lake Elmo Leader
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
The Stillwater Gazette
The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Jenn Baxter
Still Missing Podcast
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
