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

Rafael Escobar Jr.
Escobar, date, approximate 1976
Date Missing 11/30/1976
Missing From
Staten Island, New York
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 12/24/1957 (64)
Age 18 years old
Height and Weight Unknown
Medical Conditions Escobar suffers from mental illness, beginning with a nervous breakdown when he was thirteen years old, and was admitted to psychiatric hospitals on multiple occasions. He was taking medication for his condition, including Lithium. His sister stated he reacted badly to the medications and was "like a zombie."
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic male. Brown hair. Escobar's nickname is Junior. He is of Puerto Rican descent.
Details of Disappearance Escobar was last seen on November 30, 1976. At the time of his disappearance, he was a resident at the now-defunct St. Michael's Home for Children, which sat on an 88-acre property in the 1300 block of Arthur Kill Road in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
Children were supposed to leave the home after they turned eighteen, but Escobar stayed; his mental health was deterioarting and and he felt he wasn't ready to leave, and was afraid of what might come next in his life. He had learned he might not be able to achieve his goal of joining the military, and was upset about this, but told his sister he was going to make her proud of him.
Although Escobar had been living in the children's home since the age of thirteen when his mother abandoned the family, he kept in regular touch with his family and visited his sister on weekends. His sister had rented a large apartment and was hoping to get all her siblings out of foster care and group home facilities and take them to live with her. Escobar was supposed to be the next sibling who would come to live in the apartment.
After getting a letter from St. Michael's saying Escobar was missing, his sister filed a missing persons report for him with the police. She was told that foul play was suspected in his disappearance, but there were never any viable leads in his .
It's worth noting that in 1976 there were reports of children at St. Michael's abusing alcohol and drugs, and becoming victim to physical and sexual violence. It's unclear whether any residents of the group home were involved in Escobar's disappearance, however. His younger brother also lived at the home.
St. Michael's Home for Children closed in 1978. Escobar's sister has never closed her brother's bank account, and never changed her phone number, out of hope that her brother is still alive. There are nine surviving siblings in the family and they still hope for answers in his disappearance.
Investigating Agency
New York Police Department
Other
PIX 11