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
Dennis Lloyd Martin
Dennis, date, approximate 1969; Age-progression to age 58 (date, approximate 2020)
Date Missing 06/14/1969
Missing From
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Missing Classification Lost/Injured Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 06/20/1962 (60)
Age 6 years old
Height and Weight 4'0 - 4'1, 55 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A red t-shirt, dark green hiking shorts, white socks and black low-cut oxford shoes with a simple heel.
Medical Conditions Dennis had learning disabilities in 1969. At the time of his disappearance, his mental age was about half a year behind his chronological age.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Dark brown hair, brown eyes. Dennis's hair is wavy and he has long, thick eyelashes. He was missing one of his upper front teeth at the time he disappeared.
Details of Disappearance Dennis was visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with his father, his grandfather, his older brother and two cousins on June 14, 1969. The family lived in Knoxville, Tennessee at the time. They hiked from Cades Cove to Russell Field, a distance of ten miles, their first day, then traveled to Spence Field the next day and set up camp there.
Dennis was last seen between 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. that day as he played a game of "Hide and Seek" in Spence Field in the park, near the Appalachian Trail. He disappeared behind a bush in the area and has never been seen again.
The search for Dennis involved over 1,400 people and was the largest, most extensive search in the history of the park. The search effort was hampered by heavy rains that hit the area on the evening of June 14, however, and no evidence as to the child's whereabouts was ever located.
In 1985, a ginseng hunter told authorities he saw what he believed were the skeletal remains of a child in Tremont's Big Hollow, Tennessee. He had actually seen the bones years earlier, and hadn't come forward sooner because he would be blamed for Dennis's death. Law enforcement went to the spot the hunter indicated, but found nothing.
Dennis was a special education student at the time of his disappearance. He is described as a "husky, healthy" boy who had hiking and camping experience and wasn't particularly fearful. His remains unsolved. He is believed to have gotten lost and perished in the park.
Investigating Agency
Great Smokey Mountain Police Department
865-436-1230
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
615-744-4000
Other
NewspaperArchive
National Search and Rescue School
WBIR News
Unsolved Disappearancesin the Great Smoky Mountains
The Leaf-Chronicle
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Unsolved Appalachia
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
