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
Yorck Kenneth Woita Jr.
Woita, date, approximate 2003; Gregory Awana
Date Missing 08/28/2003
Missing From
Honolulu, Hawaii
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Age 28 years old
Height and Weight 6'2, 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue short-sleeved t-shirt with possibly white sleeves, blue jeans, white Converse Star sneakers, a Tag Heuer wristwatch, and a 20-inch Figaro chain of 14 karat gold.
Associated Vehicle(s) Yellow 2000 Nissan Xterra with the license plate number JBJ-067 (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Woita was born in Germany.
Details of Disappearance Woita was last in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 28, 2003 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was driving his stepbrother's yellow 2000 Nissan Xterra with the license plate number JBJ-067. Another man, Gregory Awana, was in the car with him.
Woita was involved in an ongoing dispute with Gregory at the time of his disappearance. Gregory, a former deputy sheriff, was employed as an investigator for the city medical examiner. Woita had given him money to start growing marijuana and he believed Gregory owed him a substantial sum as his share of the profits.
Woita planned to meet Gregory on the day he went missing and asked his stepbrother and a friend to "watch his back." The other men watched the meeting from a distance. Gregory and Woita drove to Gregory's house in the 2300 block of Oahu Avenue and went inside between 5:00 and 5:15 p.m.
Woita's friends called him on his cellular phone at 5:35 p.m. He told them Gregory had a gun. At 6:45 p.m., Woita called his stepbrother and said he was okay and would meet them later. He didn't sound upset at the time. Woita's stepbrother called him back between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m. Woita was still with Gregory at the time and said he'd meet his stepbrother back at their hotel room.
His stepbrother tried calling him at ten- or fifteen-minute intervals after that, but Woita didn't answer the phone. He has never been heard from again. At 9:05 p.m. that day, the Nissan he was driving was found on Mokulama Street in Waimanalo, Hawaii. It had been set on fire and was still burning when it was located.
Police set up a surveillance detail at Gregory's house and, two days after Woita's disappearance, they saw him and his wife, Jody Awana, load garbage bags into a truck and drive them to a dump. When investigators opened the bags, they discovered marijuana plants, a bloodstained cement block, bloodstained white towels and a spent .22-caliber cartridge casing
The Awanas were arrested afterwards. Gregory was charged with second-degree murder, auto theft, commercial promotion of marijuana and property damage. Authorities believed he killed Woita, stole his car and set it on fire.
Jody didn't face charges relating to Woita, but she was charged with hindering prosecution for helping her husband dispose of the bloody items, and with assisting her husband in his marijuana operation. She later admitted she'd helped Gregory dispose of his marijuana, but denied helping him grow it and denied any knowledge of Woita's presumed murder.
Jody pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a deferred term of five years in prison, while her husband was remanded for trial. A photograph of Gregory is posted with this summary.
Gregory admitted he killed Woita, but said he'd acted in self-defense. He said Woita became angry with him, threatened to kill him and grabbed Gregory's gun, and the gun went off three times and killed Woita while the two men were fighting over it. Gregory said he panicked after the shooting, borrowed a friend's boat, and dumped Woita's body and the gun in Kaneohe Bay.
A jury convicted him of second-degree murder in February 2005 in spite of his self-defense claim, and he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Woita moved from Germany to the United States with his family at age three. He graduated from Castle High School. He was employed as a carpenter and studying business and the German language at Hawaii Pacific University. He enjoyed fishing as a hobby. He did not drink alcohol or frequent bars at the time of his disappearance, and it is uncharacteristic of him to be out of touch with his family.
His body has never been located, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Honolulu Police Department
808-529-3394
Other
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Honolulu Advertiser
NamUs
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
