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

Therese Rose Vanderheiden-Walsh
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
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
Therese, date, approximate 1990; Age-progression to age 32 (date, approximate 2016); Merle Marie Vanderheiden, date, approximate 1990
Date Missing 06/22/1990
Missing From
Kailua, Hawaii
Missing Classification Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/04/1984 (38)
Age 5 years old
Height and Weight 3'0, 45 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A pink t-shirt, pink shorts and pink and white Nike sneakers.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, green/hazel eyes. Therese has moles on her back and shoulders, and her ears are pierced. She may use her last names together or separately, and may use the last names Cochran, Doherty, Hamm, Johnson and/or Smith.
Details of Disappearance Therese's father, Francis Walsh, had sole custody of her in 1990. Her mother, Merle Marie Vanderheiden, was not permitted to conduct unsupervised visits with Therese until she submitted to a psychological evaluation.
Francis and Merle met in Maryland in 1979 and married in 1980. They were both assigned to U.S. Army intelligence units at the time. The couple eventually relocated to Hawaii with their daughter. Francis said that the marriage was troubled and he moved out of the family's home in 1987.
Merle apparently accused Francis of sexually abusing Therese some time afterwards. Authorities investigated Merle's claims and found that there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Merle eventually moved back to the U.S. mainland while Francis and Therese remained in Hawaii. She made regular phone calls to Therese in 1990 while she was not permitted unsupervised visitations with the child.
Therese was enrolled at a day care center in Kailua, Hawaii on June 22, 1990. Her teacher noticed a woman wearing dark sunglasses and a hat near the grounds while the students filed back into the center after recess ended. The teacher realized that Therese had disappeared after her classmates took their seats in their room.
Authorities believe that Merle was the woman spotted on the center's property and that she abducted her daughter from the grounds. A felony interference with custody warrant for Merle's arrest was issued on July 26, 1990. She has yet to be captured and Therese's whereabouts remain unknown.
Photos of Merle are posted with this summary. Her date of birth is August 5, 1950, making her 39 years old at the time of Therese's abduction. She's described as Caucasian,5'5 to 5'7 and 120 to 145 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes.
Merle wears eyeglasses or contact lenses, and her ears are pierced.. She may wear wigs to disguise her identity. She may use the aliases Marie Walsh, Kara Vanderheiden, Jacqueline Smith, Vann Vanderheiden, Pat Doherty, Mary Jean Hamm, Kara Johnson and/or Kara Cochran.
Merle has access to firearms and is considered dangerous. She has the abilities to evade authorities due to her intelligence training. She has been sighted throughout the years in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Colorado and Texas. She may be employed in a hospital, as a social worker or as a forest ranger.
Some people believe that Merle was aided in Therese's abduction by Children of the Underground, a controversial organization founded by Faye Yager. The group assists parents and their children who want to disappear due to alleged abuse and otherwise. Yager claims to have assisted Emily Sawyer and her mother in their flight, also.
Francis helped found the Hawaii State Clearinghouse on Missing Children after his daughter's abduction. He died in 1998. Therese's remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Honolulu Police Department
808-529-3115
Federal Bureau of Investigation
202-324-3000
Other
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
Hawaii State Clearinghouse on Missing Children
Unsolved Mysteries
MSNBC
Missing Child Center Hawaii

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