As an Indigenous American woman, missing persons are a subject close to my heart.
For Indigenous people in the United States and Canada, it's not a matter of if you know a missing or murdered Indigenous woman, girl or Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S), it's how many and who.
For me, her name is Virginia Pictou-Noyes. We were friends when we were both in high school—we attended different schools—and spent summers together in Upward Bound.
Gin disappeared in Maine on April 23 or 24, 1993. She left behind five living children—Gin had lost two children in a house fire in 1990.
The Search for Virginia Sue Pictou-Noyes/Facebook
Anyone with information about Virginia's disappearance please contact: Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit - North, 198 Maine Avenue, Bangor, Maine 04401. Telephone (207)973-3750 or toll free 1-800-432-7381
Reddit user Pristine_Put5037 asked:
"What's that one missing person case that sits in the back of your mind?"
Bobby Dunbar
"Bobby Dunbar. Disappeared in 1912 during a family vacation to Swayze Lake, Louisiana, USA, at the age of 4. Dunbar was allegedly found in the company of William Cantwell Walters, an itinerant worker, 8 months later."
"Walters was arrested and the boy was returned to the family."
After his death in 1966, DNA evidence revealed the boy returned to the family was NOT Bobby Dunbar. No one knows what happened to the real kid."
~ tamelycliches
Hannah Upp
"Hannah Upp, a twice victim of fugue states."
"She had disappeared twice, once in New York City and once in Maryland, USA, each time was found near water."
"Well, she decides to move to a tropical island to teach, and whaddya know, she disappears from St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
"I think she drowned."
~ Neat_Classroom_2209
Timmothy Pitzen
"Mom picked him up early from school in Aurora, Illinois, USA and took him on a trip to the zoo and things like that around Illinois and Wisconsin over three days."
"Then she was found dead from suicide with a note that said her son was safe, but would never be found."
"His father is still looking for him."
~ baldpatch29
Mekayla Bali
"Mekayla Bali, 16-year-old girl went missing in 2016 from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada."
"She was last on camera at a restaurant in the local bus stop."
"Never seen or heard from again."
"There is a theory that she was meeting someone that she met online, but nobody knows."
~ Special_Hedgehog8368
Andrew Gosden
"Andrew Gosden was just 14 when he was last seen on the 14th of September 2007 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. His parents went to the grocery store to pick up some goods, as the believed he had already gone to school."
"While they were out, Andrew returned home and collected his belongings. He took his video game console, but not a charger. He then paid a £200 ticket and travelled to London."
"It took several weeks for CCTV to reveal that he had travelled to London. During this time, the police and media alike had thrown Andrew's father Kevin through the mud."
"Kevin was extensively questioned, with police even using the 'good cop, bad cop' approach on him.
"By the time that it was finally proven that Andrew had left Doncaster, little could be done about it."
"Several theories have come to light in the 17 years since Andrew disappeared."
"One theory is that Andrew voluntarily disappeared. It has been theorized by some, including Andrew's parents, that he may be gay or transgender and afraid to come out."
"Other theories include that he was travelling to a concert or was picked up by an opportunistic predator. Some people have even suggested that serial killer Stephen Port was behind his murder."
"Andrew's parents have never given up hope of seeing their son alive again, although his dad has conceded that he knows Andrew did not leave voluntarily, after he did not turn up to the wedding of his sister Charlotte."
~ Material_Poet_9706
Morgan Nick
"Morgan Nick disappeared when she was 6, and her mother created The Morgan Nick Foundation to help find missing kids."
"I first learned about her from an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They were building a new house for the family, and made a bedroom for Morgan if she ever came home."
"That aired in 2005, and sadly, she hasn't been found as of today."
~ PurpleDreamer28
Kyron Horman
"Kyron Horman."
"A 7-year-old boy who disappeared from inside—no one saw him leave—Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, on June 4, 2010."
"The case is still unsolved today."
~ Nicegy525
Rachel Cooke
"Rachel Cooke. The 19-yr old went for a morning jog in January 2002. A neighbor last saw her coming back a couple hundred yards from her house. She never made it home."
"I worked in news as a cameraman and had just started a job in this area about 7 months after this happened. We frequently checked in with the family at each anniversary of her disappearance and anytime police found new evidence or possible locations of a body."
"The mother and father were such nice people and it just broke my heart each time we talked to them as they just kept holding on to the tiniest bit of hope."
"Her father died in 2014, never having got any kind of closure. To this day, they have no suspects or a body."
~ lipp79
Michael Dunahee
"Michael Dunahee. At 4 years old he went missing in 1991 from a playground in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, only a few yards from where his mother was playing football."
"Victoria was still a pretty small and sleepy town back then, so it was quite the shock to the community."
"When my own son was around that age, I couldn't help but think about that case."
~ Great68
"I was 10 when this happened and it was EVERYWHERE in BC."
"We were travelling across BC that summer and my Dad made sure we kept our eyes out for Michael everywhere we went, just in case."
~ rileysauntie
The Springfield Three
"Sherrill Levitt-age 47, Suzie Streeter-age 19 and Stacy McCall-age 18—known as The Springfield Three. "
"The 3 women went missing from Springfield, Missouri, USA in 1992."
~ Infamous-Spinach-185
"Abducted from their home. Purses and everything left behind, scared little dog, broken porch light, threatening message on answering machine accidentally erased.
"Suzy and Stacy were two younger women the day after their high school graduation and Sherrill was Suzie's mother."
~ Rogerbva090566
Daniel Robinson
"A local case here is Daniel Robinson."
"He was 24 when he went missing in 2021. This case baffles me and I hope to see it resolved someday sooner rather than later."
"Essentially, he was a geologist who left a job site and traveled towards a semi rural area in Buckeye, Arizona, USA. He was last seen driving his red jeep renegade and was traveling alone."
"The jeep was later found crashed in a ravine with his personal items still inside of it (cell phone, wallet, keys)."
"I suspect he sustained a head injury from the accident and then unfortunately wandered further into the desert and died from dehydration or his injuries."
"His body had never been found."
~ ireallylovegoats
Shelly Miscavige
"Shelly Miscavige, wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, disappeared from somewhere in California, USA."
"Not seen publicly since 2007 and no proof of life publicly provided. All missing persons cases brought to LAPD are simply 'closed' because the church claims she isn't missing."
~ Petdander
Summer Wells
"Summer Wells. She went missing from her home on Ben Hill Road in the Beech Creek community of Hawkins County, Tennessee, USA, around 6:30 p.m. on June 15, 2021 at the age of 4."
"Mom says she was outside helping plant flowers and went inside to play. Sadly she was never seen again."
"The family was investigated, but nothing came to light."
"It’s a very sad story and I think of that poor little girl often. I truly wonder what happened to her."
~ maksauce47
Rose Marie Bly
"Summer's aunt, Rose Marie Bly, also went missing 12 years earlier."
"Rose Marie went missing from St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, USA, in 2009."
"The cases aren't thought to be connected, but who knows? Rose Marie's case is still unsolved."
~ SilentSeren1ty
Terrance Williams
"Terrance Williams disappeared after being taken into custody by Sheriff's Deputy Steven Calkins in Naples, Florida, USA, in 2004 for a traffic offense. The same deputy was later found to have been the last person to see Felipe Santos alive, before Santos also disappeared while in custody for a traffic offense."
"The going theory is that the deputy involved didn't actually kill these men outright."
"The circumstances point to him giving them a 'starlight tour' instead of writing them up. This is an extrajudicial punishment in which the officer strands the person in custody in a remote area and leaves them to work their own way home."
"The question is where is the place so dangerous that he's 2-2 for deaths?"
"The term 'starlight tours' originated in Canada, where the Saskatchewan cops were doing it to Indigenous people. Even in subzero temperatures, they sometimes had survivors."
"There's alligators in Naples for sure, but 2-2 feels like there's a human involved. Cop drops the guys in the same stretch of back road and they end up knocking on the same door looking for a phone."
"There's the question of whether this deputy is allegedly a serial killer or not—to which the answer is 'possibly'. Some people seem to have taken the alleged starlight tour theory to mean that the deputy is not responsible for these deaths."
"That's not correct. Abandoning someone in an extreme situation would obviously be murder, even if something like dehydration was the ultimate cause."
"As to why the starlight tour is a theory, I'd encourage you to listen to the podcast The Last Ride on NPR. They make a reasonably solid case for this after a deep dive. Even if you don't agree, they do a really thorough review of the case and it's worth a listen."
~ AlanMercer
Is there a case of missing persons that weighs heavily on your mind?
@elleuk/Instagram
@elleuk/Instagram
