10 Unsolved Disappearances

10 Unsolved Disappearances

10 Unsolved Mysterious Disappearances

Suzanne “Suzi” Streeter, Stacy McCall and Sherrill Levitt

Suzanne Streeter, 19, along with her mother Sherrill Levitt, 47, and best friend Stacy McCall, 18, all vanished June 7, 1992 from Springfield, Mo. 

The girls had planned on staying at a hotel in Branson, Mo., then visit the White-Water amusement park in the morning. Stacy called her mother to tell her they instead decided to stay at a friend’s home in Battlefield, Mo. 

After the police were called due to a noise complaint, the two girls head over to Sherrill’s house to spend the rest of the night.

Sherill had been home that evening and the girls arrived at approximately 2:15 a.m. 

The following morning their friends tried to reach Stacy and Suzanne at the mother’s residence, phoning and stopping by but they could not be located. All the women’s personal belongings were found inside the home but the three were never found. The only physical evidence left at the scene was a broken porch light. 

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Suzanne Streeter, Stacy McCall or Sherrill Levitt, please call the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810.

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Charlene Voight 

Charlene Voight, 36, had just graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in Landscape Architecture and excited to start in her new career path. She decided to pursue her career and relationship and travel from Calif., to Littleton, Colo., and move in with her boyfriend.

After not hearing from Charlene for several days, her parents reported her missing on July 8, 2016. Her car was found abandoned in a gravel lot about a block from the apartment complex she had been living with her boyfriend.

A few weeks after Charlene vanished her boyfriend was arrested on unrelated charges of sexual assault involving another woman.

Authorities searched a Commerce City landfill in March following her disappearance, but the search ended after four months. Police never made public what prompted them to conduct a search. Charlene’s was not recovered; however, they did locate some of her clothes, now undergoing DNA testing to see if they link to a suspect in her disappearance.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Charlene Voight, please call Littleton Police Department at 303-794-1551.

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Sarah Galloway 

Sarah Galloway, 38, has Down’s Syndrome. On the morning of March 21, 2019, she vanished from the front porch of her rural home in Picture Rocks, near Tucson, Ariz. Sarah functions at the level of an 8-year old child and very trusting of people. Her mother Sherry Galloway says, “Nobody is a stranger to Sarah.” 

Volunteers immediately canvassed the area surrounding the residence, along with canines and aerial searches but the ground searches were later called off because they produced no leads. Pima County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is ongoing. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Sarah Galloway, please call Pima County Sheriff’s Office at 520-88-CRIME (27463).

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Corinna Slusser

Corinna Slusser, 19, was last seen in the early morning hours of September 20, 2017, at the Haven Motel in Queens, New York.

Two months earlier in July, Corinna contacted her mother and told her that she had met a man who had offered her a place to stay in New York City.  She immediately left with only her cell phone, identification, and the clothes on her back. Daily, Corrina was on Facebook and Instagram, but all social media activity has since stopped. Her family fears Corinna has been kidnapped into sex trafficking.

NYPD says the investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Corinna Slusser, please call NYPD at 800-577-TIPS (8477).

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Keith Bailey 

Keith Bailey, 48, vanished August 6, 2019. He went to a three-mile walk before work that Tuesday morning, but his wife Nikki Bailey later found out he never arrived at work. His cell phone was last pinged on Highway 87 heading northeast to Payson, Ariz.  He was driving a newly purchased dark-gray 2018 Toyota Tacoma truck with temporary license plates. 

His credit card revealed he had filled up on fuel in Payson but there has been no further activity on their bank account. 

Keith is the principal materials engineer for ARTL Laboratories in Phoenix. “He wasn’t sleeping,” said his wife Nikki. “He was having trouble going to work. And he loved that job.” 

If you have information about the disappearance of Keith Bailey, please call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151. 

Elaine Park 

Elaine Park, 20, vanished during the early morning of January 28, 2017, in Calabasas, Calif. Elaine had driven to her on again – off again boyfriend’s home to stay the night but he told authorities that Elaine had a panic attack around 4 a.m. the following morning. He said he tried to get her to stay at his home, but she left in her vehicle. 

Three days later Elaine’s 2015 Honda Accord was found abandoned on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway unlocked with the keys still in the ignition. Authorities found her cell phone and other personal belonging s inside the car. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Elaine Park, please call the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-4911. 

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Stacey Smart 

Stacy Smart, 51, has been missing from the small Trinity County town of Lewiston, Calif. According to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, she vanished October 12, 2016, from the home she shared with her boyfriend. 

Stacey’s daughter Nicole Santos said her mother usually celebrated Halloween with her but when she didn’t show up at her home that night, Santos went looking for her the following day and found out her mother’s friends had not seen her for weeks. Trinity County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is ongoing. 

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Stacey Smart, please call the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office at 530-623-3740. 

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Logan Schiendelman 

Logan Schiendelman, 19, vanished May 19, 2016, from Tumwater, Wash. Raised by his grandmother, she pinged his cell phone that revealed Logan was in the area of his mother in Olympia. Furth activity on his phone indicated he had driven south on Interstate 5, then back north, then south again, then north, then south again. 

His black, 1996 Chrysler Sebring was later found abandoned on Interstate 5 between Tumwater and Maytown. Several drivers called 911 describing a man jumping out of his vehicle and running into the woods. 

Foul play has not been ruled out in this case. There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Logan Schiendelman, please call the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office at 360-786-5599. 

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Jasmine Moody 

Jasmine Moody, 18, a nursing student at Texas Women’s University, went missing on December 4, 2014, from Detroit, Mich.  

Jasmine had met a woman through social media and traveled from her home in Texas to Detroit to visit the woman and her family for the Thanksgiving holiday. On the evening of December 4, Jasmine and the woman for into an argument about Jasmine’s social media posts and has never been seen again. 

The woman told authorities that Jasmine had left her home and ran out into the cold leaving her cell phone, purse and identification at the home. Foul play is suspected in this case. 

There is a $2,500.00 reward for information that leads to the whereabouts of Jasmine. 

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Jasmine Moody, please call the Detroit Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. 


Kristen Modafferi 

Kristen Modafferi, 18, vanished on June 23, 1997 in San Francisco, Calif. 

Kristen was an industrial design major at North Carolina University and traveled to San Francisco to attend a summer photography course at the University of California at Berkeley. 

She was employed part-time at Spinelli’s coffee shop at the Crocker Galleria in the financial district of San Francisco. She also worked at Café Musee inside the Museum of Modern Art on the weekends. 

On June 23, Kristen asked a coworker at Spinelli’s for directions to Baker Beach which is located next to Land’s End Beach west of the city. Her shift ended at 3:00 p.m. that day, but she was seen on the second level of the Galleria with an unidentified blonde woman. That woman has never been identified. 

Despite thousands of leads and appearances on national television shows nothing has led to information that would lead to Kristen. Police say the investigation is ongoing. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Kristen Modafferi, please call Oakland Police Department at 510-238-6341. 


The Media and Missing White Woman Syndrome

The Media and Missing White Woman Syndrome

If you are a missing person, it helps to be white

(Jasmine Moody vanished in Detroit, Michigan on December 4, 2014.)

Jasmine Moody, a 22-year old Texas Women’s University student mysteriously vanished on December 4, 2014, while visiting a friend in Detroit, Michigan. Nearly four years later, police are no closer to figuring out what happened to her. News coverage of her disappearance has long since vanished from the scene too, folding into the phenomenon of what is known as Missing White Woman Syndrome.

Approximately 7:30 p.m., the evening of December 4th, Jasmine was last seen leaving her friend’s home in the vicinity of the 3700 block of Baldwin, in the Van Dyke and Mack area of Detroit. Her family, who lives in Texas, is convinced foul play is involved in Jasmine’s disappearance and disappointed in the police department’s response and ensuing investigation.

“My daughter was real popular. She had a lot of friends. She was very social and energetic,” Jasmine’s mother Lisa Kidd told Dateline. “She always had a smile on her face. Always, always.”

Jasmine had known she wanted to be a nurse since she was 16 and described as a well-rounded student at Texas Woman’s University. According to her stepfather Patrick Kidd, Jasmine was a straight-A student, danced, and was training to be part of the U.S. Armed Forces through her school’s ROTC program.

According to police, Jasmine had developed an online relationship with Brittany Gurley, a woman who lived in Detroit. Just a few months after meeting online, Jasmine and Brittany had developed a strong friendship and Jasmine flew to visit Brittany and her family for Thanksgiving.

On the evening of December 4th, the two women allegedly got into an argument about Jasmine’s social media posts. Brittany and her family would later tell police that Jasmine put on a hoodie and walked out of the house.

Little else is known about her disappearance. No major ground search was conducted, and ongoing media exposure on a national level has been minimal.

In contrast to Jasmine Moody’s case, Lauren Spierer, a 20-year old student at Indiana University, vanished June 3, 2011, after an evening out with friends in Bloomington, Indiana. Lauren, who grew up in Scarsdale, an affluent town in Westchester, New York. Her disappearance quickly garnered national press attention but remains unsolved.

“Lauren’s disappearance has been and continues to be the most heart-wrenching experience of our lives,” Lauren’s family posted on Facebook on June 4, 2018, seven years after her disappearance. “I remember writing a few short months after Lauren’s disappearance that I never thought I would see an October without answers. I could never have imagined we would still be searching for Lauren seven years later. I end this now as I start each morning, hoping today will be the day.”

After an evening out at Kilroy’s Sports Bar with friends, Lauren was last seen on 11th Street and College Avenue in Bloomington at approximately 4:15 a.m. She had left her cell phone and shoes at the bar, presumedly taking her shoes off in the beach-themed bar’s sand-filled courtyard.

National news quickly began covering Lauren’s disappearance while hundreds of volunteers assembled to distribute thousands of fliers and help conduct ground searches of the area. A billboard overlooking the Indiana State Fairgrounds, along Fall Creek Parkway, asks the public for any information that would lead to the whereabouts of Lauren.

 

 

(Thousands of flyers of missing person Lauren Spierer have been distributed throughout the country.)

Hundreds of volunteers continued to turn out daily to help the family in their search.

Lauren’s case was profiled on popular America’s Most Wanted in 2011, leading to dozens of leads but not that one the family needed. Over the years, dozens of news media outlets have covered Lauren’s story.

Early on, Lauren’s parents hired private investigators and today, maintain an active Facebook group.

In one very revealing and heartfelt post, Lauren’s mother writes, “I could not have imagined on June 3, 2011, that my life would ever have any semblance of normalcy. Unfortunately, that word will never be applied to our lives. You learn to live with routines which get you through your days, weeks, months, and years. We will never know normal. Some of the things taken for granted in ordinary families are so far removed from ours it’s difficult to fathom. They range from everyday life events, a wedding, a birth and yes sadly death. What I wouldn’t do to hear Lauren’s voice or even just to notice a text on my phone. Something so simple as a text. My heart breaks at the thought of it. Well, those responsible will never be able to imagine. I have said it before and I know it’s redundant but what could have been an accident in a few short hours became a crime. The worst nightmare any parent or sister could imagine.”

Every day Lauren’s family simply hopes for answers. That’s all any family of a missing person could ask for.

Two young women, one black, one white, both ambitious students couldn’t be treated more differently by the media. One becomes nearly a household name, the other nearly forgotten. With absolute certainty, no one can say exactly why.

 

What are the numbers?

As of May 31, 2018, there were 87,608 active missing person cases in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of the active missing person cases listed in NCIC, 40,108 cases are of missing women and 26,842 are black.

(National Crime Information Center Report)

Names like Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart, Polly Klaas, Natalie Holloway and Lauren Spierer have become familiar household names. Their missing person cases have dominated the headlines over the years. Cases like Jasmine Moody’s are not rare and unfortunately rarely make the local news.

Historically, whenever a female missing person becomes a national headline, she is almost certain to be a pretty, young white woman.

When was the last time you heard of a missing black female on CNN or other national news outlets?

In an NBC news story “Damsels in Distress” Roy Peter Clark, head of Poynter Institute for Media Studies is quoted, “It’s all about sex,” said Clark. “Young white women give editors and television producers what they want.”

“There are several common threads,” said Clark. “The victims that get the most coverage are female rather than male. They are white, in general, rather than young people of color. They are at least middle class, if not upper middle class.”

Some say the cases fit a narrative pattern that storytellers have used for more than a century, a pattern who design still incorporates remnants of an outmoded view of women and black people and their roles in society.

When it comes to popular stories, Clark said, “there is this perverted, racist view of the world. White is good; black is bad. Blonde is good; dark is bad. Young is good; old is bad. And I think we can find versions of this story going back to the tabloid wars of more than a hundred years ago.”

Regardless of class, color or age, it is clear that there is disproportionate coverage of black missing person cases. Referred to as “Missing White Woman Syndrome” and has led to a number of tough on crime measures named after white women who disappeared such as Suzanne’s Law, Kristen’s Law, Jennifer’s Law, Amber Alert and others.

In a study conducted by Baylor University, “The Invisible Damsel: Differences in How National Media Outlets Framed the Coverage of Missing Black and White Women in the Mid-2000s,” Professors Moody, Dorris and Blackwell concluded that in addition to race and class, factors such as supposed attractiveness, body size, and youthfulness function as unfair criteria in determining newsworthiness in the national news coverage of missing women. In addition, news coverage of missing black women was more likely to focus on the victim’s problems, such as abusive relationships, a troubled past, while coverage of white women tends to focus on roles as mothers or daughters.

Zach Somers, a sociologist at Northwestern University, noted that while there has been extensive research that shows that white people are more likely than people of color to appear in news coverage as victims of violent crime, there is relatively none when it comes to missing person cases.

Victim blaming appears to be compounding the unequal coverage and reinforces the view that black female victims are not only less innocent, but less worthy of rescue relative to white women. Thus, the term “Damsels in Distress.”

Others have blamed “police brutality” for the lack of publicity given to black female missing persons, attributing the silence to a habit of “sexism and patriarchy” in American society.

One group is fighting the imbalance of national media exposure that exists. The Black and Missing Foundation’s mission is to draw more attention to missing African Americans by providing an outlet for spreading the word through technology and print – and their work is making a difference.

By creating relationships with the media, government agencies, and the public, they are increasing the chances of missing black women being covered in the news and ultimately, to bring them home.

Derica and Natalie Wilson, two sisters-in-law, and founders of the Black and Missing Foundation have been profiled in People Magazine, Essence, Ebony, Huffington Post, Washington Post and developed a partnership with TV One. This year they celebrate ten years, helping thousands of families of missing persons and finding nearly 300 people.

“Many times, we are a family’s last resort – their last hope., says co-founder Natalie Wilson. This platform allows us to open our doors for families searching for their missing loved ones and not restrict access to help.”

Black and Missing Foundation have set the example for other groups to follow, especially the media.

Thomas Lauth of Lauth Missing Persons: an Expert in Missing Children and Adults noted, “In the 17 years of conducting missing persons cases for families and non-profit organizations, there is certainly a media and public bias against a missing person of color. When the general public and the media see a blonde 18 year-old on CNN that is missing–as opposed to an African American female on CNN–there is immediate attention to the blonde. Luckily there are non profit organizations such as Black and Missing to help bring more exposure to advocacy to the families for persons of color.”

Finding missing persons is a cooperative effort between the police, media, social service agencies and especially the public. With every news story, the coverage generates leads and increases the chance of that one lead being reported that will assist law enforcement in the investigation, and even close a case.

When it comes to missing persons there is no black and white, there are only families who are missing their daughters, siblings missing their sisters, children who are missing their mothers. There is no rich or poor, only families, human beings experiencing the most traumatic experience of their lifetimes.

People . . . who need our help.

For more of Kym Pasqualini’s work in missing persons, please visit her website, Missing Leads , or log on to Facebook and join the conversation on the Missing Leads Discusssion page!

Missing Persons – Jasmine Moody

Missing Persons – Jasmine Moody

MISSING PERSONS

What Happened to Jasmine Moody?

Jasmine Moody, 22, vanished on December 4, 2014, during a visit to Detroit, Michigan

In late November 2014, Jasmine Moody, a Texas Woman’s University honor roll student, went to visit a friend in Detroit, Michigan. She disappeared, December 4, 2014, at approximately 7:30 p.m. leaving her friend’s home, around the 3700 block of Baldwin. This location is situated in the Van Dyke and Mack area of Detroit. Her disappearance has baffled police and her family is convinced foul play is involved.

Moody was scheduled to return home to Texas on December 5, 2014

Moody was scheduled to return home to Texas on December 5, 2014

According to a Detroit Fox 2 report, “Mystery of what happened to Jasmine Moody continues 1 year later,” private investigator Scott Lewis said, “It was a December night, it was cold outside, 7:30 at night.” Lewis was hired by Moody’s family in a desperate search to find her. “Jasmine left the home with no tablet, no telephone, no money, no credit card, dressed in a sweatshirt. And she’s never been seen again,” Lewis added.

Moody was wearing a white hoodie with a burgundy “University of Texas” logo on the front and blue jeans.

“I thought she went for a walk. I went for a walk to grab a cigarette and came back, but Jasmine didn’t,” her friend Brittany Gurley told Detroit News. “I don’t know anything. I went searching myself and came up with literally nothing,” she said.

Internet Relationship

During mid-2014, while living in Texas, Jasmine had pursued an Internet relationship with Brittany Gurley who lived in Detroit. She decided to travel to Gurley to spend the Thanksgiving holiday, arriving on November 25th. She had visited Gurley at her east side residence in Detroit several times before.

The girls had met on Twitter and had a romantic relationship for approximately two years.

Moody was scheduled to return to Texas December 5th. Gurley stated, “She and Moody got into a fight over a Facebook post.” She continues on claiming Moody “stormed” out of the house. Gurley went out for a cigarette and when she returned several minutes later, Moody was gone. The following day, Moody’s mother Fa’Lisa Nichols desperately tried calling Moody but there was no answer. The calls became more frantic as Nichols talked to her daughter every day on the phone.

Moody’s mother did not know her daughter was missing until a week later because Gurley and her family never called her to inform her of the incident. Nichols believes Gurley knows more than she has told police.

In November 2015, Moody’s mother along with Moody’s stepfather Patrick Kidd went to Detroit and joined volunteers who searched a mile radius around the location where Moody was last seen, hoping someone would come forward with information.

“It’s been a year,” said Kidd, Jasmine’s stepfather, “I haven’t heard her voice. I don’t know if she is alive or if she is dead.”

Moody’s parents have gone to Detroit several times to search for their daughter. Photo courtesy of Detroit News 7.

Moody’s parents have gone to Detroit several times to search for their daughter. Photo courtesy of Detroit News 7.

Morton is not alone in her assumption Gurley is hiding information about Moody’s disappearance.When Fox 2 Detroit News asked a volunteer, Chelsea Morton, if they felt Gurley had something do to with Moody’s disappearance she responded, “Of course. How could she just walk out in the cold? No shoes, no phone, no nothing.”

“Someone knows,” said Malik Shabazz, a community activist. “I believe the people in that house right there,” as he pointed to Britney Gurley’s family’s home.

Family wants another investigation

Moody’s family petitioned Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Change.org “I Want Michigan State Police to Investigate More on Britney and her family,” demanding police conduct a full and complete investigation and interrogation of Britney.

Moody is described as a stable young lady by her parents. During an interview with Tamara Thompson of “Real Talk with Tamara,” Nichol’s was asked if she felt her daughter’s disappearance is suspicious. “I do, I do. I do feel it was suspicious. If she was the type who ran away or disappeared from time to time, I might not be as worried as I am right now. But that doesn’t describe her at all . . . so, with that being said, it is suspicious,” said Nichols.

Nichol’s and her daughter spoke every day on the phone. “This is just not right. I know something is just not right,” Nichol’s said.

Days pass, months, now years – for a mother desperate to know what happened to her daughter.

Moody’s phone, laptop and everything she had with her was found at the home of Gurley. “Jasmine would go nowhere without her phone,” said Nichols.

Moody’s mother Fa’Lisa Nichols had a bad feeling about her daughter Jasmine Moody going to Detroit.

Her mother had discouraged her from traveling to Detroit telling her daughter she had a bad feeling. Moody responded, “Mom, you are so dramatic!”According to family, Moody knew no one else in Detroit and would have felt uncomfortable alone; therefore, she would not have left on foot.

It has now been three years without hearing her daughter’s voice. “It just hurts me to know somewhere out there knows something and people can be so cruel and sleep at night and know someone is hurting over their loved one,” said Nichols, “I know something has happened to her.”

Gurley’s friends and her family have not cooperated with police according to Nichols. In fact, when Nichols called and spoke to Gurley’s mother to ask what happened with her daughter the night Moody disappeared, Nichols believes their stories sounded rehearsed.

“Somebody did something. Her mother knows something,” said Nichols. “This has gone on way too long.”

Nichols describes a very close relationship with her daughter and having a very disturbing experience the night Moody vanished. While sleeping, the night of December 4th, Nichols suddenly awoke and heard her daughter’s voice say, “Help me, Momma.” The following day she couldn’t dismiss the feeling and arrived at work with tears in her eyes. She called her daughter’s phone. No answer.

Nichols describes that day beginning a 3 year nightmare and turning her entire life upside down.

Nichols claims, “In the beginning, the detectives from the Detroit Police Department did not stay in touch regarding the case. No updates, no return calls and they had not even entered Moody’s information into the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) correctly. Since then, a new detective was assigned who calls to check in and has been very responsive making each passing day “not knowing” a little easier.

Where is the attention?

A young black woman goes missing. Where is the national media attention? Moody’s disappearance generated some local media attention initially; however, no mention on national news.

Families of African American Missing feel the disparity and claims it is nothing new. With the help of Black and Missing, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, Moody was profiled in the November 2015 issue of Essence Magazine, “Bring Her Home for the Holidays: Jasmine Moody.”

In comparison to other missing person cases such as Natalie Holloway, Chandra Levy, and Laci Peterson, the news media coverage has been minimal.

Black and Missing Foundation works with the families of the missing, media and law enforcement nationwide to ensure equal attention and resources are available to every black missing adult and child. The nonprofit has become well-known for addressing the disproportionate amount of media attention and cited in hundreds of articles throughout the United States.

Black and missing

According to statistics on the Black and Missing website, as of 2011, there were 692,944 entries of missing persons in the FBI’s NCIC system, of that 33% were black missing persons totaling 229,736.

There is a $2,500 reward offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Jasmine Moody and the prosecution of anyone involved in her disappearance. If anyone has information about the whereabouts of Jasmine Moody, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.