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
Teresa Joanna Gossage
Teresa, date, approximate 1976
Date Missing 10/09/1976
Missing From
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 17 years old
Height and Weight 5'2, 105 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A brown and white shirt, a brown jacket, white jeans and sneakers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Teresa's nickname is TC.
Details of Disappearance Teresa was last seen with Alfred Hoffman Marshal on October 9, 1976. They were students at Waynesville High School, and both were the children of officers at the Fort Leonard Wood Army base. They left on a date in Alfred's car at 7:30 p.m. They never returned and have never been heard from again.
The following day, their car was found locked and abandoned on a side road in an isolated area of Fort Leonard Wood. In spite of the freezing weather, Alfred's jacket was found in the backseat of the vehicle. His hairbrush, which he never went anywhere without, was in the console. There was no evidence of foul play.
Although investigators initially thought the pair had run away, Alfred and Teresa's loved ones didn't believe this. Teresa was a good student and a member of the school's band; the band had won a district contest qualifying it to compete in a state competition, and Teresa was excited about it.
In January 1977, three teenagers were murdered at Fort Leonard Wood while out on a double date.Johnny Lee Thornton, a military police officer, pulled them over as they crossed into the fort, shot the boys to death, sexually assaulted the girls, shot them also, and dumped the four bodies. One girl from the group survived by playing dead. She walked for six miles to the nearest house to call for help.
Thornton pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming he had multiple personalities, but was convicted and sentenced to three life plus twenty years in prison. He is considered a suspect in the disappearances of Alfred and Teresa well. Alfred's car was found abandoned not far from where the murder victims' bodies were dumped.
In spite of the circumstances, however, no evidence has been found to tie Thornton to Alfred and Teresa's disappearances. He remains in federal prison and the s are still unsolved.
Investigating Agency
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
Other
The Waynesville Daily Guide
The Springfield News-Leader
The Daily Capital News
The Houston Herald
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
