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
Patricia Ann Wood
Patricia as a baby (several years before her disappearance)
Date Missing 01/01/1976
Missing From
Swanzey, New Hampshire
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 10/12/1972 (49)
Age 3 - 4 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Patricia's nickname is Patty.
Details of Disappearance Patricia was last seen in Swanzey, New Hampshire sometime in 1976. She lived with her father and stepmother, John and Judith Wood, and four older step-siblings at the time.
Patricia's father and stepmother told her biological mother she'd been killed in a car accident, and told others that Patricia was with her mother. Neither of these stories was true, and her disappearance wasn't reported until 1987.
On August 20, 1987, the police confronted Judith about her stepdaughter's disappearance; they weren't able to speak to John. The next day, John and Judith committed suicide together at their home. They left a note, but it didn't provide any answers as to Patricia's whereabouts.
Prior to her disappearance, the child was treated several times for injuries, had to be hospitalized at least once, and doctors reported suspected child abuse. Patricia was placed in foster care for several months, then returned to her family, and the state child protective services closed their file on her.
Patricia's step-siblings remembered that their mother frequently disciplined her. The youngest one told his father, and later the police, that his mother and stepfather drowned Patricia in the bathtub and buried her in the backyard.
Authorities dug up the Wood family's backyard and also checked local mine shafts, but found nothing of interest. Patricia is considered missing under extremely suspicious circumstances; her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
New Hampshire Cold Unit
603-271-2663
Other
New Hampshire Department of Justice
The New Hampshire Union-Leader
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
