By: Shane Lambert
Original Publication Date: September 30th, 2025
Case Form A: The Vanishing Traveler
In my Missing Persons Commentary blog, I use “Case Forms” to categorize missing persons cases into patterns. A “form” groups disappearances by key circumstances—locations, events, or behaviors—to reveal insights and aid investigations. One thing it does, which is a weakness, is that it doesn't treat cases as wholly unique. With this approach, you can try to gain insight between cases based on similar sets of facts.
Case Form A is defined as follows:
(1) Subject Travels Abroad
(2) Subject Does Not Check-in For Return Transportation.
In this case, it’s the latter condition—missing a flight or paid transport—that triggers the missing person designation, whether soon or in the future. Unlike missing a coffee date, a class, or casual appointment, which might be shrugged off, a missed flight costs hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.
In 2005, a transatlantic ticket ran $600–$1,200, a hefty sum to abandon. Usually, transportation, especially flights, is considered important enough that people will not merely abandon it. Therefore, the missed transportation often signals a problem—be it choice, accident, or foul play.
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Last call for a missing passenger. |
Christine Linda Longino
Christine, 31, from Sandy Springs, Georgia, embodies Case Form A. In early November 2005, she was dropped off at a MARTA station (Atlanta-area transit), took a train to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and flew to London’s Gatwick Airport. She missed her November 12th return flight.
Was it a new life, foul play in London, or an accident that caused her to miss her flight home? Timeline gaps—October 14 vs. November last-seen dates—and an unknown drop-off person cloud the case, still unsolved in 2025.
Natalee Holloway
Natalee, 18, traveled to Aruba in May 2005 for a graduation trip. She was last seen leaving a bar on May 30th, then later that day, she missed her group’s prepaid return flight to Miami that morning. Her mother raised the alarm immediately, launching a search. Joran van der Sloot’s 2023 confession confirmed foul play, but her body remains missing.
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