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
Matthew David Pendergrast
Pendergrast, date, approximate 2000
Date Missing 12/01/2000
Missing From
Memphis, Tennessee
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 01/04/1977 (45)
Age 23 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 110 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A black leather cord necklace with a blue crystal pendant.
Associated Vehicle(s) Navy blue 1998 Toyota 4Runner SUV with the Georgia license plate number 934-PT (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Pendergrast is right-handed. He has facial dimples. His nicknames are Matt and Mateo.
Details of Disappearance Pendergrast was a student at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee in 2000; he was within two weeks of graduation. His family resided in Atlanta, Georgia, where his father worked as a plastic surgeon.
He was last seen leaving his residence in Memphis between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. on December 1, 2000. He was driving his navy 1998 Toyota 4Runner with the Georgia license plate number 934-PT at the time.
He was scheduled to attend a Spanish class four blocks from his home that morning. He never arrived and has not been seen again. He apparently called a friend in Atlanta that morning; it was the last time anyone has heard from him.
Pendergrast's SUV was discovered abandoned in Lonoke County, Arkansas at approximately 2:00 p.m. that day. The vehicle was located on a private dirt road off of south Kerr Road near Interstate 40, parked near the edge of Bayou Meta, a swamp often used by area hunters. It was unlocked and his keys were in the ignition.
About 100 yards away were his clothes: blue jeans, a t-shirt, shoes and socks. His wallet, containing his driver's license and other identification, as well as credit cards and $46 in cash, was still in the jeans pocket. There was no sign of Pendergrast near his vehicle. Extensive searches of the surrounding area produced no clues as to his whereabouts.
The police found Pendergrast's journal inside his abandoned vehicle. In it he wrote about "Silver Elves" and seeking immortality, and about "walking into water and becoming one with nature again." It's unclear what he meant in these writings and whether his journal has any bearing on his .
His family doesn't believe he would have taken his own life, and there's no evidence that he was involved with drugs or any other il activity.
Authorities have classified Pendergrast's disappearance as suspicious; at least one investigator believes the scene with his clothing was staged. It's uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Arkansas State Police
800-553-3820
Lonoke County Sheriff's Department
501-676-6494
501-843-2611
Other
The Garden of Missing Children Society
Arkansas State Police
The Lonoke Democrat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Commercial Appeal
KTHV
NamUs
Arkansas Matters
KATV
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
