The Missing Persons Thread

[Key]

Others find this stuff interesting? I guess I'm not as crazy as people say i am.

[SGR]

Originally Posted by Key

Others find this stuff interesting? I guess I'm not as crazy as people say i am.

Personally, I find this stuff fascinating. Part of the interest is obviously in not knowing what actually happened. We can assume the worst - but we can never know for sure that the worst actually happened.

Originally Posted by Key

Johnny Gosch is probably one of the main ones that pops right into my head. I have done countless hours of research on this case, as well as others. But this one in particular is really interesting. I think I've seen a documentary on it as well.

His case is an interesting one - do you have any resources you'd recommend to learn more about his case?

Originally Posted by WWWP

**** yes, I love this. Will add to this later!

Steph, you were going to add something? I'd be interested to hear which case provides you intrigue.

[SGR]

Bryce Laspisa - American - Male - Castaic, California - missing since August 30th, 2013 - age 19 at the time of disappearance

Picture:

Originally Posted by The Charley Project

Laspisa was last seen in Castaic, California on August 30, 2013. He was attending Sierra College in northern California and was driving home to visit his family in Laguna Niguel, California at the time of his disappearance. He called his mother at 2:00 a.m., saying he was too tired to drive and was going to stop his car and sleep. He said he'd call her when he woke up.

Laspisa's beige 2003 Toyota Highlander was found abandoned in a ravine off Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake a few hours later, lying on its side, the rear window smashed. His cellular phone, wallet, laptop computer and other belongings were still inside the vehicle but there was no sign of him. An extensive search of the area turned up no clues. He has never been heard from again.

Laspisa's loved ones stated he was unfamiliar with the area he disappeared from, didn't hitchhike and didn't enjoy outdoor pursuits. He's originally from Illinois and graduated Naperville Central High School in 2012. His case remains unsolved.

Other resources:

The Story Of Bryce Laspisa And His Chilling Disappearance In California

The Mysterious Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa



Any tips or information?
Please call Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, the investigating agency, at 323-890-5500

[Trollheart]

If we have a serial killers thread (and I do a serial killers journal) this can't necessarily be considered in bad taste, however I would suggest SGR that you add a line in the OP to the effect that if anyone has any information and maybe see if you can source emails or phone numbers or websites that were set up to take such information. Who knows? Maybe one of you will solve a missing persons case! Wouldn't that be great? In reality though, it might just help to avoid the otherwise perhaps slightly ghoulish nature of such a thread, not that I'm saying I see it as such, but some might.

And always bear in mind, it's a tiny possibility, about as likely as me ever having a girlfriend, but at some point someone who knows these people might end up here, and it would be as well to be aware that could happen.

[SGR]

Originally Posted by Trollheart

If we have a serial killers thread (and I do a serial killers journal) this can't necessarily be considered in bad taste, however I would suggest SGR that you add a line in the OP to the effect that if anyone has any information and maybe see if you can source emails or phone numbers or websites that were set up to take such information. Who knows? Maybe one of you will solve a missing persons case! Wouldn't that be great? In reality though, it might just help to avoid the otherwise perhaps slightly ghoulish nature of such a thread, not that I'm saying I see it as such, but some might.

And always bear in mind, it's a tiny possibility, about as likely as me ever having a girlfriend, but at some point someone who knows these people might end up here, and it would be as well to be aware that could happen.

100% agreed. Thanks for the suggestion Troll.

I've added the phone numbers of the investigating agencies to each case I've posted thus far.

[SGR]

Brianna Maitland - American - Female - Montgomery, Vermont - missing since 03/19/2004 - age 17 at the time of disappearance

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Originally Posted by The Charley Project

Brianna was last seen at her dishwashing job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont, between 11:20 p.m. and midnight on March 19, 2004. Her coworkers asked her to have dinner with them, but she declined because she was tired and had to get up early to go her second job as a waitress in St. Albans, Vermont. She left work and was supposed to go home to where she lived with a friend in Sheldon, Vermont.

She never arrived and her friend assumed she had moved back in with her parents and brother in East Franklin, Vermont. The friend called Brianna's parents on March 23 and found out Brianna wasn't there, and reported her missing.

Brianna's vehicle, a pale green four-door 1985 Oldsmobile sedan, was found abandoned on March 20, off East Berkshire Road and Route 118, across Dutchburn Farm Road, about a mile outside of Montgomery. It was parked partially inside an abandoned barn.

Two of Brianna's uncashed paychecks were on the front seat of the car. She also left behind all her clothing, her medicine, driver's license, her makeup, and her contact lenses. Some of her belongings were strewn on the ground in front of the car. A woman's fleece jacket was found in a field near Brianna's car, but it apparently did not belong to her.

The Oldsmobile had sustained minor damage; it had apparently backed into the building and punctured a hole in the wall. Investigators later came to believe the accident may have been staged. A photograph of the vehicle as it was found is posted with this case summary.

Police did not initially report the abandoned car to Brianna's mother, who is the registered owner. They noticed Brianna's paychecks inside the vehicle and guessed that she was the primary driver, so they went to her place of work to try to find her and tell her about the car. The abandoned Oldsmobile and Brianna's disappearance were not connected until her disappearance was reported three days later.

There has been some speculation that Brianna's disappearance is related to the disappearance of Maura Murray, a nursing student from Massachusetts who vanished February 9, 2004 in Haverhill, New Hampshire after getting into a car accident. She has not been found. Haverhill is only about 90 miles from Montgomery.

The FBI met with local authorities to discuss possible links between the cases. Both Murray and Brianna are attractive brown-haired young women, and both disappeared after car accidents in which their cars were left behind with personal items inside.

However, the FBI and local law enforcement concluded that, despite the apparent similarities, Murray and Brianna's cases were probably not connected to each other. The theory is not being entirely ruled out, but investigators believe it is an unlikely one.

About three weeks before Brianna disappeared, she was reportedly attacked by a female acquaintance in front of several witnesses. The reasons for the assault are unclear. Brianna did not try to defend herself, although she has had several years of martial arts training.

After the attack she went to the hospital and received treatment for facial cuts, two black eyes and a concussion. She filed a criminal complaint against her alleged attacker. The case was still pending when Brianna disappeared. After she vanished, the district attorney dropped the complaint, against the objections of Brianna's parents.

There is a possibility that Brianna left of her own accord; she mentioned to friends her plans for possibly making a short trip out of the area. She is described as an independent, restless young woman who was unhappy in her rural surroundings, and she has run away before.

Brianna passed her GED examination on the day of her disappearance; she planned to attend college part-time. Authorities believe she was a victim of foul play and her disappearance is possibly drug-related; drugs are very common in the Montgomery area.

Brianna's parents also think she came to harm, but they maintain their daughter was not seriously involved with drugs and drugs were not a factor in her disappearance. Her parents separated after her disappearance and her mother now lives in New York.

Some agencies report that Brianna vanished from East Franklin or Sheldon, Vermont.

Other resources:

https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs...ianna-maitland

https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/202...anna-maitland/



Any tips or information?
Please call the Vermont State Police, the investigating agency, at 802-524-5993

[SGR]

I learned about this case in one of the Missing 411 movies, a very strange case indeed.

Thomas E. Messick Sr. - American - Male - Horicon, New York - missing since 11/15/2015 - age 82 at the time of disappearance

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Originally Posted by The Charley Project

Messick was last seen hunting with friends and relatives on state land in the Lake George Wild Forest near Brant Lake near Horicon, New York at 10:00 a.m. November 15, 2015. The group separated a short distance off Lily Pond Road, with plans to meet up at an agreed-upon location at 2:00 p.m.

Messick never arrived at the rendezvous point, and his hunting party began searching for him. At 4:30 p.m., after they were unable to find him, they contacted forest rangers. Four rangers searched the area until midnight, and the subsequent volunteer-assisted search lasted weeks, but no sign of Messick was ever located.

According to his wife of over fifty years, Messick is an experienced hunter and woodsman and, if he had gotten lost, he would have cut off a piece of his jacket and tied it to a tree to mark his path. Due to his age and health issues, authorities don't believe he could have gotten very far on his own. His case remains unsolved and his family believes he's deceased.

Other resources:

https://locationsunknown.org/tom-messick

https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/fi...ust-days-apart



Any tips or information?
Please call the New York State Police, Troop G, Queensbury at 518-745-1035

The weird thing about this case is the circumstances. This guy was with friends on a hunting trip, he was basically sitting down where they parked their vehicles, at the treeline - and waiting for his friends to drive some deer his way. He had no reason to move that we know of, and his friends weren't expecting him to. Keep in mind, this guy is 82 years old, half-deaf and half-blind and not very mobile. And yet, by the time his friends came back, he was gone. No trace of him. One of these friends reported hearing a very strange sound in the woods, like a metallic scraping I believe he described it, something he's never heard before in the woods. No trace of this guy has ever been found, not even his clothes or his gun. If you're interested in this case, I highly recommend watching Missing 411: The Hunted which goes over it (and other cases like it) in more detail.