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
Mikelle Diane Biggs
Mikelle, date, approximate 1999; Age-progression to age 25 (date, approximate 2012); Sketches of possible suspects in Biggs's disappearance; Dee Blalock
Date Missing 01/02/1999
Missing From
Mesa, Arizona
Missing Classification Non-Family Abduction
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 05/31/1987 (35)
Age 11 years old
Height and Weight 4'8, 85 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A red t-shirt with her elementary school's name, Lindbergh (sometimes given as "Lindburg"), imprinted on the front, bell-bottom jeans with embroidered seams on the sides of both of the pant legs, white canvas shoes and possibly earrings.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Mikelle's upper front teeth are prominent. Her ears are pierced and she has several moles on the left side of her neck. Her hair had been permed and was growing out prior to her disappearance.
Details of Disappearance Mikelle was last seen riding her bicycle near her family's residence in Mesa, Arizona on January 2, 1999. Mikelle and her younger sister thought they heard an ice cream truck's music in the distance and asked their mother for money. Mikelle and her sister waited for the truck near Toltec Street and El Moro Avenue at approximately 5:50 p.m. Her sister became cold and returned to the family's home for a coat. Their mother sent her back for Mikelle, but she had disappeared.
Mikelle's bicycle and her two quarters were found near the street where she had been standing. The bicycle was not at the corner, but partially back towards the house. It was lying on its side with the wheel still spinning. Mikelle and her sister had been separated for only about ninety seconds.
Authorities searched the entire area near Mikelle's family's home, but no evidence pertaining to her whereabouts was found. Search dogs lost her scent after only a few feet, suggesting she was placed into a vehicle and driven away. Authorities were unable to confirm if an ice cream truck was in the area at the time of her disappearance, but all ice cream vendors in the area were cleared of involvement in Mikelle's . Known sex offenders in the vicinity were also cleared of any connection to Mikelle.
There have been many false leads in Mikelle's . On January 9, police dug up what appeared to be a freshly-dug grave outside of Mesa. They found nothing. Two witnesses were put under hypnosis in hopes that they would remember something, but nothing came of that. A copper-colored jeep was reportedly spotted near Mikelle's home at the time she was last seen, but when its driver was located he was ruled out as a suspect and he had seen nothing usual.
Houses in the neighborhood were searched with the consent of their owners, but to no avail. Only one homeowner refused to permit a search; he is not considered a suspect. On March 10, 1999, a man reportedly tried to abduct two girls, a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old, from a schoolyard. Police thought the incident might have been connected to Mikelle's , but the "abduction" was revealed to be a hoax.
Investigators have released sketches of two possible suspects in Mikelle's disappearance. Both images are posted with this summary. The sketches were not widely publicized since authorities are not certain if the men are connected to her .
Mikelle's father believes he knows who was reponsible for his daughter's apparent abduction. The man, Dee Blalock, lived two blocks from the Mikelle home in 1999. He had prior convictions for sex offenses in three states and was registered as a sex offender. In 2001, he was convicting of raping a neighbor and trying to kill her. He is presently serving a fifteen-and-a-half-year sentence in an Arizona prison.
A photograph of Blalock is posted with this summary. His wife provided him an alibi for the time Mikelle disappeared, saying he was in their home garage the entire night. Mikelle's parents visited him in prison and asked directly if he had been involved in her disappearance, but he repeatedly told them he knew nothing about it.
Mikelle's family now lives in Gilbert, Arizona. On the fifth anniversary of her disappearance, her family held a funeral for her with an empty casket. They believe Mikelle was murdered shortly after her disappearance. No charges have been filed against anyone in her .
Mikelle is described an intelligent, artistic, sociable person and an honor student. She played the clarinet and was a member of her school's student council at the time of her disappearance. She wanted to become an animator when she grew up. Her favorite color is purple and she has two younger sisters and a younger brother. There are few leads in Mikelle's disappearance and her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Mesa Police Department
480-644-2211
Other
The National Centerfor Missing and Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America
Mikelle Biggs: Missing
The Polly Klaas Foundation
America's Most Wanted
Swift Office Solutions
[email protected]
Arizona Central
NamUs
The East Valley Tribune
Unsolved in the News
ABC 2020
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
