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
Vyacheslav Arjkadyevich Akopov
Akopov, date, approximate 1998
Date Missing 09/12/1998
Missing From
Bladensburg, North Carolina
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/26/1946 (76)
Age 52 years old
Height and Weight 5'8, 150 - 170 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Light-colored four-door 1987 Plymouth Caravelle
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Graying black hair. Akopov is a native of Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in central Asia. He speaks limited English.
Details of Disappearance Akopov resided in a trailer in Bladensburg, North Carolina in September 1998. He rented the trailer from Wanda Phipps, who describes him as a model tenant. He worked at Harriet and Henderson in Clarkton, North Carolina and sent money to his wife and two children in Uzbekistan. He often let other Uzbek immigrants stay in his home until they were able to find jobs. Two such people were staying with him at the time of his disappearance.
On September 12, Phipps saw him in Elizabethtown, North Carolina. He was accompanied by his two roommates and was trying to find his insurance agent. Phipps helped him get his car and insurance. She saw him get into his vehicle, a light-colored four-door 1987 Plymouth Caravelle, with his two friends afterwards. He has never been heard from again.
Phipps reported him as a missing person after she found out he had not shown up at work; he was a very reliable employee and it is uncharacteristic of him to miss work without giving notice. After his disappearance she went to his trailer and saw that it was in a messy and cluttered condition and all of Apokov's clothes and personal belongings were still there. The refrigerator was dented and some pictures had been removed from their frames.
Phipps stated it was uncharacteristic of him to leave his trailer a mess, as he usually kept it very neat. Akopov's Uzbek/English dictionary, which he always carried with him to assist with language acquisition, was missing.
Phipps stated she disliked the two men who were living with Akopov when he disappeared. They were younger than his previous roommates and unlike the other immigrants he had lived with, these men were unable to find employment in the area. Phipps stated both men were in their thirties, between 5'9 and 5'11 tall, and had stocky builds. They have not been publicly identified. Both of them disappeared at the same time Akopov did.
Akopov was carrying between $500 and $600 in cash at the time of his disappearance, and two paychecks which have never been cashed. He was devoted to his family and friends in Uzbekistan and he wrote to them regularly, but they have not heard from him since his disappearance.
Skeletal remains of a man approximately Akopov's age, and wearing boots similar to his own, were found near Wilmington, North Carolina after his disappearance, but the remains have not been identified. There has been no sign of Akopov, his vehicle or his two roommates since 1998. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Bladen County Sheriff's Office
910-862-6960
Other
North American Missing Persons Network
The Bladen Journal
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
