Norma Jolene Madera - Missing Since 1991

Missing Person's Name: Norma Jolene Madera

Last contact: July 1st, 1991

Age when disappeared: 27

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64 (which is 5'4")

Weight in pounds (lbs): 110

Ethnicity: Native American. She was/is a member of the confederated tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Not given, presumed to be brown due to Native American ancestry. Looks brown in the photo.

Scar or distinctive characteristic: None known

Details from government source: Norma was last seen at the Greyhound Bus Station in Yakima, Washington where she planned to travel to Seattle and then south on Pacific Hwy South to Tacoma. Norma never arrived at her destination. It was not confirmed whether or not she ever made it on the bus in Yakima. 

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/124251?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: July 15th, 2024

Norma Jolene Madera was last seen on July 1st, 1991. There were not a lot of details on this missing person in the newspaper articles or online. However, there was a chat forum started on her at Websleuths that may develop over time. There is a 33-year gap between her last-seen date and the upload date at NamUs.

Her name was not found in the newspaper database that I use, at least not for any news related to her disappearance. I think she appears in some obituaries for other people (ie. "survived by") years after her disappearance. 

Also, she appears to have an entry at Ancestry with a birthdate of March 12th, 1964. Her parents at that source are listed as David A. Madera and Linda Marie Madera. Norma was born in Great Falls, Montana.

Those working on this case should think about what it means to be last seen at a Greyhound Station.

On a related matter, being last seen at a bus station is not that uncommon for missing people. Mekayla Bali was last seen at a bus station in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Vickie Annette Smock was last seen at a Greyhound Station.

Furthermore, there are 59 hits for the search "Greyhound" with NamUs in the circumstances surrounding the disappearances listed there. That doesn't mean that they all disappeared from a bus station but quite of few of them were last seen at such a place. If you click the tag "bus station series" in the margin, then several links at this site will appear.

In my opinion, bus stations invoke dodgy and unsafe premises in typically sketchy parts of town. They are often in areas where some questionable characters are loitering. Also, that she was not confirmed to get on a bus does invoke the possibility of ridesharing or hitchhiking. Some people look for passengers at bus stations.

Sieu Vei Trang -- Missing from Seattle Since 1982

Details from NamUs**: "Sieu was last seen on April 3, 1982."

Missing Person: Sieu Vei Trang
Last-contact date: April 3rd, 1982
The area where the MP was last seen: Seattle, Washington

Link to government source: NamUs #MP7149 
We have no photo: This is an individual who doesn't have a photo attached to her profile.

• When there is no photo, you can try to find one at Ancestry.com or at Newspapers.com; try to find one that's as close to the missing person's date of disappearance as possible.

Ethnicity: Asian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 13

Birthdate: May 22nd, 1968
Hair details: Black
Eye details: Brown
Scars: None known
Height/weight: 4-foot-9 and 95 pounds
BMI*: Sieu Vei Trang was in the normal range for BMI.

This is one of those cases where you can't quite figure out why there is not more information on the case. This is a teenaged girl that went missing in 1982. Usually, with a young missing person, there is at least a photo to go on. However, in this case, no one seems to have been able to find one. 

This missing person is in the database for the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs. However, there is not much information on her profile at the time of writing.

Sieu Vei Trang was primarily associated with the area around Seattle, Washington. I looked in the Ancestry database to try and find details of her life that might be relevant to her missing person's status, however, I was not able to find any.

One thing to note with this case is that the individual went missing during puberty. This might be important if she is ever compared to a Jane Doe. Teeth can change rapidly during puberty. Dental records of people in puberty can require greater scrutiny because if the dental records aren't from a time that was close to when the person disappeared, a lot may have changed.

This individual has been missing for almost 40 years at the time of writing. Many of their characteristics could have changed over time. Even if the Sieu is found as a Jane Doe, the Jane Doe's hair color might not be reported as the same as when this individual went missing.

What stands out in this case, is the height. This person was just 4'9" and that will differentiate her from a lot of Jane Does that get found.

Lastly, at the time of her disappearance, Gary Ridgway, a serial killer in America's Pacific Northwest, was active. This is a point that has been by a Websleuth under username Kjowl16. You can follow the Websleuths forum at this link: Sieu's Forum at Websleuths.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities. In conclusion, I think the matter at hand is to find someone who cared about her and ask that person some questions about the case.

Author: Shane Lambert (Facebook profile)

Facebook Group: Missing Person Commentary

Twitter: @UncoolNegated (Twitter)

Pinterest: Missing Person Board
Original Time of Writing: February 21st, 2021

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

I am not a Private Investigator, however, I am currently studying to be one as of February 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges.

**Grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.

Margaret Peters -- Missing Since March 1962 From Seattle, Washington

Missing Person: Margaret Peters
Last-contact date: March 1st, 1962
The area where the MP was last seen: Seattle, Washington

Link to government source: NamUs #MP25713

Ethnicity: White

Sex: Female

Age at time of disappearance: 40 years old

Birthdate: between March 2nd, 1921 to March 1st, 1922
Hair details: Brown
Eye details: Brown
Scars: None known
Height/weight: 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-5 and 110 pounds
BMI*: In this case, the missing person was underweight by BMI at the time of the disappearance.

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges. BMI is body mass index. It relates to an individual's height and weight. Even with photographs, getting an idea of what a person's body might have looked like might help with a missing person's case.

Details from NamUs**: Last seen by her daughter in the spring or summer of 1962. May have gone to Nevada where she lived from 1958-1961.
**Grammar or spelling errors are not corrected from original sources.

Margaret Peters has not been seen since March 1st, 1962 when she was 40. At about that time, she was known to have been from the Seattle, Washington area.

What stands out, in this case, is the NamUs description. It injects some hope into the case that the missing person might have been alive after her last-seen date. Websleuths or amateur investigators can look for a record of this person in Nevada after her disappearance. If you know this individual's middle initial or middle name, then it would be useful information.

I found someone named Margaret Peters who was born on January 28th, 1922 that had an association with a residence in Nevada. The birthdate is in the range of the MP, however, I was not able to authenticate the profiles as being of the same person. This person died in March 1996.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Michael Frank Fullerton -- Missing From Seattle Since 1986

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 14th, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: Michael Frank Fullerton

Last-seen date: September 27th, 1986 -- maybe October 2nd, 1986
Last-seen location: Seattle, Washington -- car found abandoned on Capitol Hill
Link to Government Source: NamUs #MP11140
Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Male

Age at time of disappearance: 26 years old
Hair: Dark blonde/strawberry; wore a mustache
Eye color: blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 6'2" and 185 pounds
Clothing: Street shoes

Other: Scar on one of his wrists; his jaw was cracked and healed in several places.

Michael Frank Fullerton went missing in the fall of 1986 and, make no mistake, he remains missing at the time of writing. He has a grave and that might confuse some of those looking into this case.

However, the grave is a memorial only and does not contain his remains. If you are searching on Find-a-grave and finding the same-name match and same-birth-year match for a grave and think his case is still active by accident, it's not. He's not in the grave at the time of writing.

Michael's vehicle was a silver and black sedan with Washington plates. It was found ten days after he disappeared at Capitol Hill. It's possible that he was seen on October 2nd and the finding of his vehicle would be after that, on October 7th, 1986.

When you read his profile information, you have to wonder if he was depressed: scars on wrists can be a clue to a suicide attempt. That circumstance and the fact that he has not been heard from in what is now 35 years has to make you wonder if finding him will mean finding a John Doe.

On that matter, when it comes to finding Michael, Websleuths and amateur investigators can focus on the details of the jaw area from his profile. In more scientific terms, the jawbones can be called "the mandible." Even after all of this time, if Michael's remains are found then his mandible or jawbone injuries and healings may be detectable in his skeletal remains. The same can't really be assumed regarding his wrist scar. Furthermore, someone looking at his remains might be able to tell that he had injuries to the mandible or jaw in life and these details might end up in his John Doe report. Accordingly, someone familiar with the John Doe reports in the Seattle area should keep the mandible injuries in mind.