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
Karen Marie Mitchell
Karen, date, approximate 1997; Age-progression to age 30 (date, approximate 2010); Sketch of unidentified driver's vehicle; Sketch of unidentified driver; Robert Durst, date, approximate 2001
Date Missing 11/25/1997
Missing From
Eureka, California
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 11/30/1980 (41)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 130 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A long-sleeved tan shirt, baggy dark brown corduroy pants, tan leather buckled shoes, small hoop earrings, three silver rings and a silver necklace with a crystal. Carrying a Nalgene water bottle.
Associated Vehicle(s) Light blue four-door 1976 to 1978 sedan (possibly a Ford Grenada, a Mercury Monarch, or a Nissan) with California license plates and the word "Eureka" on the rear license plate frame
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Sandy brown hair, blue/green eyes. Karen has pierced ears. Her hair was neck-length at the time of her disappearance.
Details of Disappearance Karen was on the Thanksgiving holiday vacation from high school on November 25, 1997 in Eureka, California. She departed from her place of employment, the Coastal Family Development Center, during the afternoon hours.
Annie Casper, Karen's aunt, was her guardian and owned a shoe store inside Bayshore Mall. The shopping center was in the 3300 block of Broadway Street, approximately one mile from Karen's place of employment. She briefly visited her aunt's business before departing from the mall at approximately 2:45 p.m.
Karen was last seen walking towards West Sonoma Street shortly afterwards. She has never been heard from again.
A witness stated that Karen may have entered an unidentified light blue four-door 1976 to 1978 sedan, which was possibly a Ford Grenada, a Mercury Monarch, or a Nissan. The vehicle had California license plates and "Eureka" imprinted on the rear plate's frame.
The driver of the car is described as a Caucasian male, approximately 60 to 70 years old, with balding light gray or sandy blonde hair. The unidentified man had green or gray eyes and a large-sized nose that appeared to have been previously broken. He had a small build and wore eyeglasses. The driver was wearing a long-sleeved button-down light blue shirt.
Sketches of both the driver and vehicle are posted with this summary. The driver is wanted for questioning as a possible witness in Karen's . The witness claimed that the car pulled across Broadway Street and nearly hit him before stopping for a girl matching Karen's description.
Robert Durst apparently visited Casper's store several times in March 1998, four months after Karen disappeared, and he resembles the sketch of the man wanted for questioning in Karen's . His photo is posted with this summary.
Robert's first wife, Kathleen Durst, disappeared from New York in 1982. Her remains unsolved and Robert is considered the prime suspect, although he has never been charged in connection with her .
Robert was charged with the 2001 Texas homicide of Morris Black. He claimed he murdered Black in self-defense, and was acquitted in 2003. In 2015, he was charged with murder in the 2000 shooting death of Susan Berman.
Investigators looked into the possibility that Robert was in the Eureka area at the time of Karen's disappearance, but he has never been charged with any involvement.They've ruled him out as a suspect in the 1997 disappearance of Kristen Modafferi from San Francisco, but he's being looked at in the 1971 disappearance of Lynne Schulze from Middlebury, Vermont. Robert and Kathleen owned a health food store in Middlebury at the time of Schulze's disappearance, and she visited it the day she went missing.
Karen's parents divorced not long after she was born and her mother raised her and her brother alone. Karen moved in with her aunt and uncle when she was thirteen. She had liberal views in 1997 and was passionate about politics, the environment and children.
She was a good student and within a semester of graduating high school by the time of her disappearance; she planned to attend Humboldt State University and possibly study law or political science. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Eureka Police Department
707-441-4044
Other
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Polly Klaas Foundation
Child Protection Education Of America
America's Most Wanted
NamUs
The Eureka Times-Standard
The Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Child Seek Network
The Willits News
WSOC TV 9
The Daily Mail
The Burlington Free Press
The Guardian
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
