Missing: Nikki McPhatter

Police in Charlotte are hoping someone in Columbia has spotted a woman that was reported missing on May 4, 2009.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says Nikki Mcphatter's family and friends have not seen or heard from her since last Monday. Authorities say Nikki works for US Airways as a ticket agent at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and has missed several shifts at work. Nikki is described as a loyal employee.

Authorities say Nikki is 5"05' tall, weighs 130 pounds and was last seen on Rozummy Drive in Charlotte. Her vehicle, a black 2003 Honda Accord, has also been reported missing. The car has the letters PHATTAH on the NC tag.

If you see Nikki or her black Honda Accord, please call Crimestoppers at 1-704-336-3585.

[Source]

Still Missing: Elissa Martin

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help to solve a five-year-old cold case.

On May 15, 2004, Elissa McDaniel Martin left her father's home at 2911 Peaceful Way, in Campbellton, to go for a short walk, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. Martin did not return and has not been seen since. It has been five years since her disappearance.

"This case is coming up on its fifth year anniversary, however the case is still actively being worked," said Investigator Tim Hinson, in an email to The News Herald. He asked that media outlets release the information again "in an attempt to find closure for the family."

A search for Martin was unsuccessful, and she was entered into the national computer system as a missing person.

At the time of her disappearance Martin was suffering from some psychological issues, the news release said. Martin had lived mostly in the Miami/Dade County area, and had only been in the Jackson County area for a few days before her disappearance. Martin was 34 years old at the time of her disappearance.

Anyone having information in reference to Elissa McDaniel Martin, black female, born Feb. 20, 1970, is asked to contact the Jackson County Sheriff's Office 850-482-9624, or Crime Stoppers 850-526-5000, or your nearest law enforcement agency.

[Source]

Missing: Ryan Darkins

Sitting in her Tampa home, the tears continue to fall behind Robin's glasses as she sits alone on her long leather sofa. She wipes her eyes and says, "He's always here with me."

Robin lives without her son, Ryan Darkins, after he went missing April 5th and one question haunts her - where is Ryan?

"It hurts in general for him to be gone this long. I know my son, any mother that knows their children," Robin sighs.

Sadly, Ryan vanished without a trace in early April and no one has heard from him since.

No clues have been left behind.

Ryan and his best friend, Carl Walters, had planned to spend some time together one Sunday night. Carl showed up at Ryan's home on 22nd Street in Tampa.

That would be the last time Robin would see her son.

Robin wipes away tears as she talks about her son, something she admits she is reluctant to do at times. "As long as I try not to talk much about it, I'm good."

Robin filed a missing persons report, which broke her heart. She had not heard from Ryan in days which, she says, is very unusual. The young Hillsborough Community College student was always by her side and never left without telling her where he was going.

A few days after Ryan went missing, Robin was supposed to have surgery and her son told her he would be there by her side.

He never showed.

"I'm going to hold onto my faith that he's still alive," Robin told us.

Robin says part of her strength comes from Tampa Police Detective Sal Augeri, who is currently searching for Ryan in this case.

Detective Augeri and Robin talk nearly every day. He is a patient and kind, but serious, detective who has dedicated his life to helping families like Ryan's.

Helping Robin, he says, is especially important.

"There's no telling what could have happened. Ryan's mom, she pretty much calls me every day. I feel for her as a parent," Detective Augeri says.

He adds, "[It is] probably the worst nightmare any parent could go through."

A break in the case came a few weeks after Ryan's disappearance, but it wasn't the promising news Robin was hoping for in finding her son.

Ryan's best friend, Carl, was found viciously murdered in an area of Thonotosassa Road in Plant City.

Detectives say the young man was first attacked at a home on East Humphrey Street in Tampa. They describe the crime scene as a "blood bath".

Since Ryan and Carl were last seen together and Carl was now dead, what happened to Ryan? Where was he?

Detective Augeri has his suspicions, but he too refuses to give up hope. However, he says, it's getting harder and harder for Robin. "I think she is expecting the worst, hoping he is somewhere out there."

Soon after Ryan's best friend's death, an arrest was made.

Carl's brother, Derrick Cullins, was arrested for the murder. Cullins was charged with second degree murder. At the time of his arrest, police say Cullins had unexplained cuts on his fingers and a bite mark on his chest, plus blood on his clothing and shoes.

But, did he kill Ryan as well?

That question remains to be answered.

Detectives say that Cullins didn't even talk about Ryan being there that night, despite the fact that the 20-year-old left with his best friend in front of Ryan's mother, as a witness.

The trail has grown cold in this case for now. Detectives are trying to work a few leads, but they need more information.

Ryan's mother is taking to the streets herself, driving up and down Thonotosassa Road, trying to find clues in this case or, sadly, maybe even her son's body.

Detective Augeri says, "She rides around out there in Plant City on those back roads and calls me and tells me she's looking in this and that area. You would like to be able to tell her something."

[Source]

Missing: Cecilia Benious

Bossier City Police are on the lookout for a 25-year-old woman, who has been missing for several days.

Cecilia Benious, of Bossier City, was last seen on May 2, after leaving a relative’s home in Bossier City, stated a news release.

She is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has the initials “CR” tattooed on both wrists. She was least seen wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone who can provide police with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call detectives at (318) 741-8626.

[Source]

Missing for 22 years: Bonita Sanders

Atlantic City police can finally question the mother of a toddler who has been missing for more than 22 years.

The child's father found her by accident.

Authorities had been looking in vain for Bonita Sanders since February. That's when police got a tip about where the body of the toddler also named Bonita Sanders may have been left in September 1986.

A search of the area did not reveal any evidence.

Authorities also said they wanted to question the child's mother. But she could not be found until Tuesday.

Abdul Salaam spotted her during his regular bike ride around Atlantic City.

She was arrested for contempt of court in unrelated cases. She has not been named a suspect in her daughter's disappearance.

[Source]

New Evidence in Case of N.J. Toddler Missing for 22 Years
It wasn't much as far as slim hopes go, but it was all that relatives of Bonita Sanders had to cling to for more than 22 years.

"I thought maybe she was adopted somewhere, you know, sold on the black market somewhere, and that we may never see her again but at least she'd be all right and happy," said her aunt, Danielle Dabney.

But that hope was dashed earlier this month, family members say, when prosecutors in southern New Jersey told them there is evidence that Bonita was killed and her body might have been buried in a wooded area a few miles from the home where she disappeared on Sept. 14, 1986.

The girl was three days shy of her second birthday and strapped into a stroller on the porch of her home eating an ice pop the last time anyone saw her.

According to news accounts at the time she went missing, the girl's mother, also named Bonita Sanders, told police her other children were playing outside while she made dinner, and that later she noticed the stroller was empty.

Dabney said the family has not heard from Bonita's mother in at least a week and doesn't know where she is. The Atlantic County prosecutor's office and local police departments would not discuss the investigation.

Investigators spent a second day Tuesday digging in a wooded area just off the Atlantic City Expressway in Pleasantville, a blue-collar suburb of Atlantic City. Cadaver-sniffing dogs centered on a specific area of the woods where authorities searched intensively with rakes and leaf blowers before bringing in a back-hoe to dig deeper into the frozen earth.

The search continued through Tuesday afternoon.

"They said they got strong evidence that the little girl is dead and that the person told them where to look," Dabney said.

Madelaine Vitale, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, would only say "there is an investigation in Pleasantville," declining further comment.

In an interview Monday, the girl's father, Abdul Salaam, also said authorities told him Bonita is dead.

"We have good information now that we know she is dead, and we're just trying to find the body," he told NBC 10 television on Monday. "I just want to know why."

The aunt recalled little Bonita, which means "pretty girl" in Spanish, as an inquisitive, adventurous child.

"She was such a sweetheart," Dabney said. "She couldn't walk or talk yet, but she was real playful. She had those adventurous eyes, always real alert. We were looking forward to her birthday party."

She said the family is devastated at word that little Bonita is probably dead.

"This has been our biggest fear all along," she said. "They just don't know how this tears a person apart.

"We just need justice now," Dabney said. "God has got us, and we'll be all right. God didn't bring us all this way just to let us down."

I can't find much on this little girl, unfortunately this is the first time I'm hearing about her. I did some google searches and most of the articles/blog posts on her are from this year. Where was the coverage on this beautiful little girl 22 years ago?

Found Dead: Sony Georges

Who was looking for this little boy while he was drowning? Another missing Florida child life lost - and it's sad that I'm just now hearing about this.


11:44 a.m. The Polk County Sheriff's Office just announced that the autopsy on Sony Georges has been completed. "His cause of death is ruled accidental drowning,'' the agency said in a news release.

9:04 a.m. Investigators in Polk County said an autopsy will determine Sony's cause of death.

8:15 a.m. Deputies in Polk County said they found the body of the missing boy on a boat ramp this morning.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office dive team discovered the body at 7:45 a.m. -- approximately 10 feet from the Lake Cannon shore.

A press release shows the body appears to be of Sony Georges who has been missing since Sunday.

7:13 a.m. Authorities in Polk County are searching for a missing 9-year-old boy from Winter Haven.

Officials said Sony Georges told his older brother Sunday afternoon that he was "going to the lake," meaning nearby Lake Cannon, a few blocks away from their home, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Sony's mother was at work at the time, between 4 and 5 p.m., and his older siblings were watching him.

"When Georges' mother arrived home from work around 11:20 p.m. Sunday evening, she immediately began looking for him,'' the statement said. "The family located his bicycle at the lake, but Sony was nowhere to be found."

Sony "is described as a black Haitian male, 4'5" tall, 75 lbs., last seen wearing a black and red matching shirt and shorts set, and black sneakers with blue stripes," the statement said.

[Source]

Missing: Megan Mills

The Hamilton Police Department is asking the public’s assistance in locating a pregnant 17-year-old Hamilton girl last seen Tuesday, April 28, in the 400 block of Pershing Avenue.

Megan Mills is a black female, with black hair and brown eyes, according to Dave Crawford, Hamilton Police Department spokesman. She is 5-foot-10, weighs 300 pounds and is more than eight months pregnant.

She also suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and is in need of constant medical care due to her physical condition, according to police.

Mills, who is from Cincinnati, was recently relocated to foster care in Hamilton.

On April 28, Megan packed her belongings and left home, Crawford said.

“We believe that she may be heading back to the Winton Terrace area of Cincinnati where she has many friends,” he said.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Megan Mills, contact your local law enforcement agency or the Hamilton Police Department at 911.

[Source]

Missing: James Richardson

Police are asking for the public's help in finding a 10-year-old boy who has been missing since Sunday [April 19].

James Richardson was last seen leaving his mother's house in Manhattan at West 134th Street around 5:15 p.m. Sunday. Police say he was walking ten blocks to his sister's house but never arrived.

Richardson was last seen wearing blue jeans, a red-hooded sweat shirt, black leather jacket, black hat, and black shoes.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of this MISSING child is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

[Source]

Missing: Leon Spurlin

Police are asking for the public's help to locate a missing man.

Leon Spurlin, 81, was last seen around 10:30 Saturday morning at his sister's house in the 1400 block of West 26th Street. Spurlin, who has no history of missing before, is on medication, but his sister was unsure exactly what his medical diagnosis is. He lives alone and his apartment has been searched.

Spurlin is described as a 5'9" black male weighing 230 pounds with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with a beige jacket and blue jeans. Family members say Spurlin also wears a chain around his neck with his late wife's photo.

His vehicle is described as a blue 1993 Buick Century four-door, with Indiana license plate number 252YCZ.

Anyone with information about Spurlin's location is asked to call 911 to speak with IMPD Dispatch.

[Source]

Missing: Randy Alana Elliot

Fourteen year-old Randy Alana Elliot, of Fareham [Hampshire, England], was reported missing at 11.30pm on Friday night.

She was last seen leaving home at 9.15pm on Friday but has not been seen or heard from since.

Family, friends and police officers have been carrying out air, land and sea searches for the vulnerable youngster, and officers are now very worried for her welfare.

Randy is an asthma sufferer and it is thought she went out without her inhaler.

She is described as black, of slim build, 5 ft 4 ins tall, with shoulder length black curly hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a grey hooded top with the words 'No Fear' in pink, white and lime green writing on the front, black 'LA Gear' tracksuit bottoms with silver stripes down the legs and black slippers.

Police are also checking CCTV in the Fareham and Portsmouth areas.

Anyone with information, or who has seen Randy, can call Hampshire Constabulary on 101 or 0845 045 45 45, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

[Source]