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
Tera Lynn Smith
Tera, date, approximate 1998; Age-progression at age 23 (date, approximate 2005); Troy Zink, date, approximate 1998
Date Missing 08/22/1998
Missing From
Redding, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 01/06/1982 (40)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'7, 135 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white sports top, shorts and multi-colored sneakers.
Associated Vehicle(s) Full-size dark blue 1976 Ford pickup truck with mag wheels and a yellow tailgate
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Tera's ears are pierced. She has a scar on her left calf. Her first name may be spelled "Terra."
Details of Disappearance Tera was last seen leaving her family's residence on Tarcy Way in rural Redding, California to go for a jog between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on August 22, 1998.
She wasn't allowed to leave the house at night on her own and her sister tried to stop her, but Tera said she would be back before their parents got home. She never returned home and has not been seen again.
The last person to possibly see Tera was her former Taekwondo instructor and boyfriend, Troy Zink. A photo of Zink is posted with this summary. He told authorities that Tera called him during the evening hours of August 22 and asked him to meet her near her home at 6:30 p.m.
Zink claimed that Tera requested $2,000 from him during the meeting, but wouldn't say what it was for. He said he refused to give her the money and she became angry. She asked him to drop her off at the intersection of Old Alturas Road and Old Oregon Trail in Redding. He stated that he drove to Hang Glider Hill by himself to pray afterwards and returned to his house at approximately 11:30 p.m.
Zink was 29 years old and married with a young son at the time of his sexual relationship with Tera. He pleaded guilty to a spousal rape charge in 1993 and spent a year in jail. He has always denied he was involved with Tera's disappearance. He said he had received a letter from her, which allegedly stated she was planning to leave her home.
Tera's family has maintained that she was a typical teenager who had some problems with her life, but nothing that would have led her to run away. Prior to her disappearance, she had written in her journal that she planned to end her relationship with Zink. Her parents believe that Tera contacted Zink and tried to end the affair on the day she was last seen, as opposed to Zink's version of events.
After his initial police interview, Zink has refused to cooperate any further with authorities regarding Tera's . After her disappearance, he served a four-year prison sentence for weapons charges. As a convicted felon, he wasn't allowed to own firearms, but when police investigating Tera's disappearance searched his Taekwondo studio, they found some old sporting rifles and shotguns in the attic.
There was an unconfirmed sighting of Tera on the evening of her disappearance in Redding. A witness told investigators that someone matching Tera's description was spotted inside a full-size dark blue 1976 Ford pickup truck with mag wheels and a yellow tailgate. The girl was accompanied by an unidentified Caucasian male. It has not been established if this sighting is related to Tera's .
Tera was a junior at Central Valley High School at the time of her disappearance. She has three siblings. Her parents are still living in Redding. No arrests have been made in connection with her disappearance and her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Shasta County Sheriff's Office
530-245-6025
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Redding Record Searchlight
California Attorney General's Office
NamUs
The Daily Mail
KRCR 7
NBC News
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
