Missing Person Commentary

By: Shane Lambert Venika Williams , a missing person, has  a Facebook group dedicated to her missing-person's case. Her disappearance was also covered in the news  recently. Lastly, she had a NamUs page created in 2019. The details that I gathered from those sources was that she was last seen on December 22nd, 2017 or the 23rd. She was 28 years old at that time. She is an African-American woman. Her approximate height is 5'3" and her approximate weight is 142 pounds according to a news source. The Facebook group affiliated with her disappearance offered these details: "VENIKA WILLIAMS WAS LAST SEEN BETWEEN DEC 22-23 2017 . SHE IS FROM NEWARK NJ , FRIENDS SAY THEY BELIEVE SHE WAS IN JERSEY CITY LAST BEING HELD AGAINST HER WILL BY AN UNIDENTIFIED MALE, AS SHE SENT HER LAST TEXT STATING SO ! SHE IS 28 YRS OF AGE , 5’4 , ABOUT 130 LBS. VENIKA WAS LAST SEEN WEARING A BLACK LEATHER JACKET,RED HOODIED SWEATSHIRT AND BLUE JEANS.SHE IS THE MOTHER OF FOUR YOUNG...

Update: Maudie Smith was found deceased. The body that was found that was mentioned in this article ended up being her's. Related news. Maudie Smith's NamUs profile was added yesterday, March 29th, 2018.  She has not been seen since February 22nd of 2017, making the gap between her last-seen time and profile-created time mid-lengthed. Maudie Smith She is a white female She was 37 years old at the time of her disappearance She is 5'4" to 5'6" She is between 130 to 140 pounds She has brown hair and blue eyes She has an "Austin" tattoo on her left arm in black letters She has her daughter's name on her left leg She also has a Leo zodiac sign and a Chinese symbol in purple on her neck They do not have DNA at the time of writing, meaning any Jane Doe profile is a potential match provided it can't be ruled out in other ways According to NamUs she was last seen in Viper, Kentucky walking on Bear Lane* on the right fork of Maces ...

By: Shane Lambert Peggy McGuire is NamUs MP #31134 . She went missing on November 16th, 2015 (Monday) and her NamUs profile was created 8 days later. That is a very-short gap between her last-seen time and her profile-created time, an indication that everyone familiar with this case has treated her disappearance as credible (ie. not a voluntary disappearance). As of January 2021 Peggy is still missing and a large Facebook group has been created for the purpose of bringing her home. Peggy McGuire According to NamUs, Peggy is missing from Eufaula, Oklahoma. That is a small lake-side town about two hours to the east of Oklahoma City and an hour and twenty minutes south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Arkansas state border is about 90 minutes to 105 minutes to the east by driving. Thu, Dec 10, 2015 – 5 · The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) · Newspapers.com Peggy, according to her NamUs profile, was last seen dropping her son off at school. Her NamUs profile also ...

By: Shane Lambert Almost two years ago I made an attempt at NamUs MP #29973, an individual named Joseph Anthony Stuart who has not been seen since September 6th, 1991. I considered Stuart as a possible match for NamUs UP #7582 but the match was ruled out based on dental comparisons. Otherwise, a lot of things aligned between the John Doe and the Missing Person #29973: they had similar demographics and the John Doe was found along one possible route that Stuart, the missing person, might have traveled to get to Reno. Word was that he was heading that way to look into a job prospect. The rule out, as always, was final the moment it came back to me: it's hard to argue with something like dental comparisons. They and fingerprinting used to be sacred in identifying human remains in the era before DNA. But I think I found another candidate for a rule-out attempt on Joseph Anthony Stuart: NamUs UP #2294. Firstly, here's a recap of Stuart's demographics and circumstances. ...

In this article, a comparison and contrast will be made between an Unidentified Person (UP) and a Missing Person (MP). Attempts to rule out the possibility that the UP is the MP will be made. That failing, the MP and UP may end up being one and the same person. NamUs UP #17549 NamUs's UP #17549 is an individual with a very problematic profile. This deceased female was found in garbage bags bound with an electrical cord in Philadelphia. The individual was found on June 2nd, 1980 and her profile was uploaded to NamUs on March 7th, 2018. That's a very large gap relative to many other profiles. She was found in a vacant house, her head was not recovered, and one or more limbs was not recovered. Although she was found on June 2nd, 1980 she was believed to had died sometime between 1978 and 1980. Her height was estimated at 68 inches (5'8") but the estimation has to be taken loosely based on her decomposed state and the absence of her head and maybe even her legs. Her...

By: Shane Lambert Adam Christopher Patterson is new to NamUs at time of writing. However, he has been missing for about 2.5 years as of the publication date. Below, you'll find the case details as of March 27th, 2018, a day after his profile was uploaded to NamUs. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance would likely make many think that he has been lost at sea. Adam is missing from Portland, Maine and he "is believed to have taken a water taxi (he was a licensed captain) out to sea. The boat was later located washed up on a beach in Kennebunk." The over-land distance using highway travel from Portland to Kennebunk is just under 30 miles. Perhaps the nautical displacement or distance traveled is more relevant though. The beach that the boat washed-up on was called Parson's Beach as per news coverage from late 2015. Patterson's last-seen time as per NamUs is November 10th. However, the news source above says he spoke to his wife at 1:30am...

By: Shane Lambert Note: this article was originally published in March of 2018. There is recent news as of November 13th, 2019. Sadly, Devin Bond has been found deceased. Condolences are offered to his family and friends and anyone that this tragedy has negatively affected. According to the Facebook page for the group on the evening of November 13th, 2019: "We are devastated at the loss of our son, Devin. Our goal was to bring Devin home and we are bringing him home, just not in the way we had hoped. Rest In Peace sweet boy and we will be counting the days until we are together again. Thank you to Detective Pinson, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department and all the searchers that helped locate our son, we are forever grateful." Devin Bond, a missing person from Tennessee, was last seen on March 30th, 2017. His case details as per NamUs are below: The circumstances listed at NamUs leave something to be desired: "Missing juvenile. Last seen at home by mother...

By: Shane Lambert October 23rd, 2018 update: the individual profiled here was found deceased. He is no longer a missing person. Details below are kept for posterity. Article was originally written in March of 2018. Missing person, Ross Owen Peterson. Ross Owen Peterson was added to NamUS on March 23rd, 2018. He only went missing on March 15th of the same month, making for a very short gap between his last-seen time and entry into NamUS. There appears to be at least one error in NamUS but, at time of writing, these were his details: White male who was 59 years old at the time of his disappearance 5'4" to 5'6" Weight between 200 and 250 pounds He disappeared while en route to physical therapy, traveling from Taylorsville, Kentucky to Jeffersontown Gray hair, balding on top, with hair above ears Wore a mustache Blue eyes Pierced left ear with possibly an earring Vehicle information: a black 2013 Toyota Corolla with Kentucky plates 136-RXY  May have...

By: Shane Lambert Margaret Holcomb had the details of her missing-person's case uploaded to NamUS a couple of days ago. At the time of writing, it's my understanding that family members are trying to update or correct some of the Missing Person's (MP) details. Good morning Horry County and beyond. We need your help locating MISSING PERSON Margaret Holcomb (37 years old, 5'01, 135lbs). Last seen on February 4th on Tigger Loop in Conway. If seen please call (843) 248-1520. #PleaseShare #HCPD pic.twitter.com/YkegxWrAQJ — Horry County PD (@horrycountypd) February 21, 2018 There's about a seven-week gap between Holcomb's last-seen time and her entry into NamUS. That is not a long time relative to a lot of other profiles. Margaret was reported missing by her sister on February 17th, 13 days after she was last seen on Tigger Loop in Conway. The day she went missing was the same day as the 2018 Super Bowl. Her sister has remarked that she may have been g...

In the annotated screen-recording video below, I explain how I think Websleuths can enhance their Websleuthing skillset by gaining an increased familiarity with Google Maps. In my opinion, Google Maps may prove to be a valuable resource when it comes to cold cases, if not now then certainly in the future. If Google Maps keeps documenting the streets and roads of the world then in the future it will be possible to walk through an area on a historical day. When it comes to figuring out historical crimes then that might reduce dependency on finding living witnesses when one needs to get a feel for a certain area. Also, in the event that construction takes place, it may help to know where forests used to be when looking at historical crimes. Check out the video below for a fuller explanation. While researching a case involving a demolished building, I was able to go back in time and see the pre-demolition building as it was at the time when human remains were found in it. Click the vid...

By: Shane Lambert Joshua Maddux went missing in 2008 and he spent seven years statused as a missing person. However, in 2015 he was found dead in a chimney not far from where he was last seen. That he was found dead and mummified in a chimney naturally raised more questions. Was he killed and stuffed there? Or did he attempt to crawl into the cabin through the chimney and got stuck? Of the two scenarios, the latter is considered to be the best explanation according to the authorities. Coroner Al Born stated that he was probably attempting to get into the rarely-used cabin before he got stuck in the chimney and died. The case reminds me of the case of another missing person from very early in this century. Eduardo Sanchez , of Winnipeg, Canada, was last seen alive in October of 2002. In December of 2003, he was found between the walls of the nightclub that he was last seen performing at as a DJ. His death was not ruled a homicide. Rather, it was determined that he...

I read over the case of NamUS up #15871 earlier. I have some thoughts on the case. Firstly, I wonder if this person met with foul play. That her wallet didn't have anything in it is something I found a little odd. It seems to me that if you died during a hike or committed suicide that everything would remain in your wallet. I wondered if she was robbed and killed. I also wondered if the maple leaves on the wallet suggested Canadian identity, albeit they aren't typical to the one in the Canadian flag Secondly, I wondered if the bottle of Rescue Remedy was a clue. I researched pictures of the bottle for a little while and found that the wording on the bottle changes slightly between a lot of products. I did find an exact match on the bottle, however, and made a video so that everyone can see the bottle writing really clearly. I feel like the Rescue Remedy bottle might be a nice lead on finding the date of death or at least narrowing things down. The compan...