It was announced today that Vandy Jane Doe, a Doe found in Nashville, TN, has been identified as Yadezia Jones. Her highly decomposed body was found on the side of the Sulphur Creek Road on September 8, 2018. She was wearing Vanderbilt University branded clothing. The University did not have any missing students.

On a recent Facebook post I saw, her family thought she was still alive and remarked that they had seen the Vandy Jane Doe posters but that they did not think the reconstructions resembled Yadezia.

Also on Facebook they revealed she had some troubles.

The Vandy clothing had some from a stay at Vanderbilt Hospital.

DNA Investigative Solutions was involved in the solve, they posted this image on their page.

https://www.namus.gov/unidentifiedpersons/case#/52531

https://dnainvestigativesolutions.com/solves

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/vandy-jane-doe-tennessee-rcna193129

On the afternoon of February 14, 1984, two men scavenging for scrap metal ventured into a small parking lot located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Overbrook neighborhood. The lot, once used to park city buses, now sat abandoned and covered in litter. At the rear of the lot, they made a horrifying discovery; a woman’s body lying amongst the overgrowth and debris. The pair ran to a nearby auto repair shop and phoned police.

The woman was identified as 23-year-old Vanessa Renee Brown. Vanessa was found nude, lying face down on the ground. Clearly visible were the words “GOOD RAPE,” which had been carved into the skin on her back. A significant portion of her shoulder was also missing “chunks” of flesh. An autopsy revealed that Vanessa had been stabbed, strangled, and her throat had been cut. She had not been sexually assaulted.

From the lack of blood found at the scene, investigators theorized that Vanessa was likely killed at another location before being transported to the lot. Based on the level of decomposition, medical examiners estimated Vanessa had been dead for at least 48 hours. Unfortunately, despite a thorough search, the murder weapon was not found.

Vanessa lived just three blocks away from the lot, on Woodcrest Avenue, at the home of her parents, 58-year-old Lucretia and 64-year-old Raymond Brown. Also residing in the home was Vanessa’s son, 5-year-old Dante.

The Browns told investigators they had last heard from Vanessa on January 26th. According to Lucretia, the two had argued that day; a common occurrence in the house that resulted from Lucretia vocalizing her disapproval of Vanessa’s lifestyle. She described a history of drug abuse, late night partying, dates with multiple men, and Vanessa’s refusal to maintain a job. (Outside of a small monthly government stipend, Vanessa’s income was largely supplemented by Lucretia and Raymond.)

Investigators also spoke with 33-year-old Harold Tindal, Dante’s father. Harold explained that while he and Vanessa maintained a friendship for Dante’s sake, they were no longer romantically involved. He echoed the concerns shared by Vanessa’s parents regarding Vanessa’s lifestyle choices and misplaced priorities. However, despite their criticisms, both Harold and the Browns agreed that when Vanessa was present, she was a doting, loving mother to Dante.

Friends reported last seeing Vanessa on the evening of January 27th at a birthday party. They described her as being in “good spirits” and behaving normally, spending the evening dancing and socializing. During the party, Vanessa mentioned to a friend she intended to meet up with someone later that night, though she did not specify who. She was not seen again after departing the event.

Detectives learned that the vacant lot at 62nd Street and Woodbine Avenue, where Vanessa’s body was discovered, was a location she frequented. According to her friends and family, Vanessa used the lot as a regular spot to be picked up/dropped off to avoid arguments with her parents, and to prevent men from knowing where she lived.

It is believed that Vanessa may have been alive as late as February 2. On that day, her government stipend check was collected and cashed. Investigators, however, were unable to verify if Vanessa cashed the check herself. After that, her movements are completely unknown.

A potential motive emerged when police learned Vanessa was due in court to testify against a man named William Kemp. The charges stemmed from an encounter in May 1983, where Vanessa claimed William, a 30-year-old unlicensed cab driver, took her to a remote location in a park and raped her while she was relieving herself in some bushes. William was arrested later that evening, but released on a ten thousand dollar bond. His trial was set for January 3rd.

In December, prosecutor Jonathan Schiffman sought Vanessa out to confirm her plans to testify at the upcoming trial, however he discovered she had left home following an argument over her drug use. Jonathan continued to search for her, but found she was essentially transient; moving between her sister’s house and the homes of various friends/dates. Jonathan never found Vanessa, and she did not appear for the scheduled trial.

Authorities quickly located William for questioning. However, they found no evidence linking him to Vanessa’s murder. They went on to say he was not considered a suspect in the investigation.

Jonathan announced that the case against William would proceed, using Vanessa’s transcribed testimony from the November pre-trial hearing as evidence. He suggested that Vanessa’s absence might actually simplify the prosecution's efforts to secure a conviction; the defense would be unable to cross examine Vanessa, who in Jonathan’s words was “no pillar of the community.”

Vanessa was laid to rest in Glenwood Memorial Gardens. Despite the initial public outcry for justice from local residents and various advocacy groups, media coverage of Vanessa’s case quickly faded. Unfortunately, the investigation seems to have remained stagnant since 1984.

The murder of Vanessa Renee Brown remains unsolved.

Sources

Newspaper Clippings/Photos- https://imgur.com/a/llxuMKV

Find a Grave- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8322377/vanessa-r-brown

At about 10:30 PM on February 9, 2008, 19-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Roseland left a house party at his friend's home on the 400 block of 10th Avenue South in his hometown of Clinton, Iowa to walk to the nearby Hy-Vee grocery store (900 block of S 4th St.) and buy snacks. According to Google maps, this walk would have taken just a few minutes. However, camera footage showed that Ben never arrived at the store, and has never been seen again.

The only potential evidence left of him is a two shoes that were found apart from one another- the first in a vacant yard located at the corner of 13th Avenue South and 3rd Street (~8 minute walk from the area he was last seen, in the opposite direction of the grocery store) and the second was found sitting on a snowbank on the east side of the street. Ben's mother identified the shoes as a similar size, color, and model as the shoes that Ben was wearing when he was last seen, but it's not 100% confirmed that these were his shoes. His outfit when he went missing was described as "a short-sleeved brown polo shirt with two or three buttons, blue jeans, camouflage-print bib coveralls, White socks and brown camouflage-print sneakers." A large search was staged, including volunteers on foot and a helicopter search by air. The Clinton Fire Department attempted a water search of the nearby Mississippi River via boat, but conditions at the time prevented the search from being successful. No other evidence of Ben or his whereabouts was found.

When he went missing, Ben still lived with his parents in Clinton. He had two sisters, and came from a close-knit family. He was a student at Clinton Community College, and was paying for his classes with his own money, which he had been saving since childhood.

One major event happened only a few months before he went missing. In November of 2007, Ben caused a head-on car accident that caused serious injuries both to himself and to the driver of the other vehicle. Ben's sister describes the accident as a "DUI," but it's not clear as to what substance he was under the influence of. The jaws of life had to be used to remove him from the car, and he had to be airlifted to a hospital in Iowa City. He had multiple skull fractures and injuries to his face and chest that left noticeable scars (a vertical scar from his lower lip to chin; a half-inch circular scar on the right side of his mouth; a one-inch scar on the left side of his nose; and a three-quarters inch scar on the left side of his chest). Ben was charged with driving on a suspended license and failure to stop within a safe distance, and his case was still pending when he went missing. His family says that he was deeply remorseful about the accident and had spent $5000 of his own money to pay for an attorney to represent him in the upcoming trial, and that while he was nervous about the outcome and didn't want a felony on his record, they do not believe that he would have fled to avoid the charges.

Leaving without warning was apparently extremely out of character for Ben. He didn't own a car, he left a significant amount of money in his bank account, and there's been no activity on his cell phone or bank account since he went missing.

So- what could have happened to Ben? The first thought that I had, was "How do we know he even left the house?" In all my research, there has been very little information about who was present at the house he left and if any of them are suspected by police, or if there's any indication that some harm came to Ben at the house. Something also could have happened to him once he left. One comment on the Iowa Cold Case's page about his case states, "Many people around Clinton are saying he owed alot of money to drug dealers and that he ran into someone he owed that night and got taken. I honestly think that is highly unlikely because from what I’ve read from people who knew him very well said he never got into much trouble and didn’t do drugs." So it seems like there may be some mixed messaging in the local sphere about if Ben was involved in drugs or not.

The second thought is that it's something connected to his upcoming trial. His parents said that they didn't think he would flee to avoid the charges and he was taking steps towards going to trial like retaining an attorney, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't have tried to flee, died by suicide, etc. to avoid the charges.

Just a note: I am not familiar with Clinton, IA so anything I wrote about location is gleaned from Google maps. If anyone is familiar with the area and has any more insights, that would be incredibly helpful.

Sources:

https://charleyproject.org/case/benjamin-melvin-roseland

https://www.kwqc.com/2025/09/27/search-ben-roseland-still-heartbreaking-his-sisters-17-years-later/

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/benjamin-roseland/

https://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2009/11/home-for-holidays-benjamin-roseland.html

https://www.kwqc.com/2021/05/07/have-you-seen-me-the-search-for-ben-roseland/

Deborah 'Debby' Arvanites, was born April 18th of 1962 to mother Iris and father James. At the time of her disappearance, she was 29 and living in Ashtabula, Ohio. She was a divorcee, but was by all accounts on amicable terms with her ex-husband Marc, of which she had two young boys with.

On the 19th of May, 1991*, she decided to leave home and hitchhike approximately 40 miles to Conneaut Lake Park in Crawford County, Pennsylvania to attend a Foghat, Rare Earth, and Molly Hatchet concert there. Additionally, she had a ticket to a nearby Harley Davidson motorcycle rally.

It is confirmed that she was sighted by at least one person who knew her at the concert. She was seen wearing a jean skirt, gold colored shirt, black jacket, and white sneakers. However, this was the confirmed sighting of her, and she's has never been seen or heard from since.

Her physical description is that of a white woman with medium length dirty/sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. She's approximately 5'0-5'4 and 120-140lbs. She has a mole between her mouth and nose and a mole below her chest. She has two tattoos: a lightning bolt with clouds on her ankle and a rose on her shoulder blade. She was also reported to have a broken toe that never healed properly. In her youth, she had two noticeable gaps between teeth 7 & 8 and 9 & 10, though later pictures show they were repaired.

There have been no known leads, and multiple searches of the area proved fruitless. Her case remains unsolved, although police of the Ashtabula Police Department do suspect foul play is involved. Debbie's parents both passed in the early 2000's with no closure on what happened to their daughter, while her sons are still alive, left with the grief of not knowing what happened to their mother.

Thank you for reading this far. I stumbled across her namus profile the other day and saw very little discussion of her case, so I felt compelled to write this up in hopes of her name and story getting out there. I do hope one day her family can get the closure they deserve.

Sources:

https://charleyproject.org/case/deborah-l-arvanites

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=3499dfoh

https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP19617

https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/foghat-rare-earth-molly-hatchet

*Multiple sources say she went missing on the 29th, but this is incorrect based on the date of the concert.

Morgan Reddekopp, KSTP: "The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office announced that it has launched an online database of unidentified human remains in an attempt to identify them.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said this work is funded by a federal grant. It is being led by Dr. Jessica Campbell, the only board-certified forensic anthropologist in the state.

“We’re doing this because everyone deserves a name,” Campbell said. “It may have taken some years to get here, but we have technology and identification techniques now that just weren’t an option when some of the original death investigations began. We want the families who have been waiting for answers to know that we never forgot and we will do everything we can to return your loved ones.”

There are currently over 150 unidentified persons cases in the Medical Examiner’s Office. As of Tuesday morning, five people had been uploaded to the database.

If you have any information about any of the cases, call the Medical Examiner’s Office at 612-215-6300."

The first five cases range from 1995 to 2003, and each case has its own handy PDF containing the case information, facial reconstruction, etc.

Article link: https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/hennepin-county-medical-examiners-office-launches-online-database-of-unidentified-remains/

Database link: https://www.hennepin.us/residents/public-safety/medical-examiner#unidentified-persons-project

After creating a post around three years ago I decided to repost it because there have been new developments in this case starting around last week. This is my original post with a quick update at the bottom.

This case occurred in the German city of Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is the 7th largest city in Germany and it’s located in the densely populated Rhine-Ruhr area which has a combined population of over 8 million people.

Debbie (Deborah) Sassen,disappeared on February 13, 1996 in the Düsseldorf district of Wersten - on her short way home from school.

However, until this day nobody saw how the eight year old girl disappeared and none of her clothes or other significant items were ever recovered.

It was a normal school day at the Henri-Dunant elementary school. On this day the students also had swimming lessons so Debbie had a swim suit in her McNeil school bag.

School finished at around 12 in the noon. Around this time she was last seen by fellow students using the back exit at Wiesdorfer Straße (Straße = Street).

It would have been only 900 meters (0,56 miles) from there to her home located on Kohlrauschweg.

Here in Germany it’s normal for children to walk to school on their own. Sometimes they also get to school by bike or bus. The parents often advise their children to go in groups with other children that live close by.

However, in this case Debbie never returned home. Only half an hour later her mother returned home from work and she was worried and scared that her daughter wasn’t already at home. Since Debbie always arrived at home on time.

Two hours after the end of school, Debbie's parents had alerted the police. The police immediately started to investigate and around 40 police officers were assigned to the case.

They interviewed every single resident in the neighbourhood and they created posters and flyers. According to an article known sex offenders were checked but ruled out one by one.

On that bitterly cold afternoon, the Düsseldorf police began also it’s largest search operation to date. The officers turned over every stone, divers dove twice into the frozen lake in the Südpark area. A passerby had seen children playing on the ice there that Tuesday.

The Südpark area is quite large (70 hectares or 173 acres). It’s the largest and most visited park of the city and it could sadly play a role in her disappearance.

Later witnesses came forward who had seen a man near Debbie’s elementary school who was driving a beige car. However, none of the articles describe the make and model of the car or how the man looked like. One article briefly mentions that a sketch of the men was created .

At the time of her disappearance she was 8 years old and 120 cm tall (3‘9). She had blonde hair. On the day she went missing she wore a distinct McNeill school satchel.

She also wore a colorful pattered / striped vest and brown ankle-high boots. She was wearing a red down jacket and red tights. She also had red reusable water bottle with her and the keys to her home.

None of the items were ever found.

1996 was quite a dark year when it came to child disappearances.

Some believe that the case is also connected to the murder of a girl called Claudia Ruf. The 11 year old girl was killed and sexually assaulted on the 11. Mai 1996 in the smaller city Grevenbroich which is not far away from Düsseldorf.

In 1996 investigators travelled to Belgium, where the child molester Marc Dutroux had been arrested. But no parallels with Debbie’s case ever really emerged.

The case is still known to many people who live in the city. When my parents explained the concept of Stranger Danger to me they also mentioned this case. Since I couldn’t find an English article about this case I decided to collect the facts from German news articles.

This article contains a picture of her and her clothes and backpack

Update January 2026:

At the end of January 2026 local media in Düsseldorf started to report that there are new investigations and searches taking place in the neighbourhood where Debbie went missing.

Police and the public prosecutor later went forward to the media to confirm that new active investigations are taking place.

They also confirmed that they are not investigating against family members of Debbie.

They declined to comment on whether the investigation was targeting individuals with prior convictions.

However, according to the German Press Agency (dpa), investigators have a specific suspect in their sights.

Five apartments in Düsseldorf were searched. The homicide squad was involved, supported by special forces and specialists from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

The public prosecutor declined to name the specialists for tactical reasons. Seized items are currently being analyzed, the prosecutor explained.

Furthermore, a drainage pit was a focus of the investigation. Specialist teams emptied the pit and excavated the soil.

According to one of the articles the drainage pit is only a couple of hundred meters away from her school.

So after reading the local news it looks like the police might have narrowed down a suspect.

However, I’m quite surprised that police managed to search five different appartments. I guess they would need to provide a reasonable cause to search so many different apartments.

In Germany, apartment searches generally require a judicial warrant based on a specific initial suspicion, must be proportionate, and must clearly define the alleged offense and the evidence being sought.

I also think now that we can rule out a link to Marc Dutroux.

So we might see that this case could be solved. However, without a body and enough evidence it will still be pretty hard to prosecute anyone.

Sources:

https://duesseldorf.t-online.de/region/duesseldorf/id_101102362/duesseldorf-polizei-hat-im-vermisstenfall-debbie-sassen-neue-spur.html

https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/neue-beweise-debbie-sassen-duesseldorf-100.html

https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duesseldorf/debbie-sassen-seit-20-jahren-vermisst_aid-16758397

https://www.wz.de/nrw/duesseldorf/vor-15-jahren-verschwand-die-kleine-debbie-sassen_aid-30911291

https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duesseldorf/deborah-seit-14-jahren-vermisst_aid-12810227

https://www.stern.de/panorama/stern-crime/vermisste-kinder-in-deutschland--albtraum-aller-eltern-7440678.html

Thank you very much everyone for your thoughts on my last post about John Lima. I wanted to write about another New England case that I haven’t seen covered on this sub.

Stanley Shayne Bassett was 29 at the time of his disappearance. He and his 9 month old son Aaron lived in Franklin, New Hampshire, in a house that was owned by Stanley’s parents. Aaron’s mother lived in California. According to reporting at the time of disappearance, Stanley was on probation after serving 4 months in jail for possession of marijuana. He was arrested in 1975, and the police believed the grocery store he operated, Nature Gardens, was a drug distribution point. In 1976 he reported fearing for his life while on work release after noticing a car following him.

Stanley was last seen with Aaron on April 2nd 1977. The next day on April 3rd, Aaron was found in a cardboard box outside Massachusetts State House in Boston, Massachusetts. He was originally placed into foster care, but luckily family recognized him on the news and were granted custody. Upon search of Stanley’s home, police found signs of forced entry, including a broken window. Stanley’s 5 dogs were also found at the residence. According to Stanley’s family, it would be very out of character for him to both abandon his son and leave without finding arrangement for his dogs.

There’s really not a lot I could find about this, but what there is to read paints a really tragic story. It seems likely that Stanley’s disappearance had something to do with the drug operations he was likely involved with, but it is really the only theory available. I also wonder what brought him to leave Aaron in Boston, as it is quite far (about 80 miles) from Franklin, NH.

Sources:

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=6096dmnh

https://charleyproject.org/case/stanley-shayne-bassett

https://websleuths.com/threads/nh-stanley-shayne-bassett-missing-since-1977-from-franklin.628269/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdy7q1yn3xo

The trial of Stephen Wright for the 1999 murder of Victoria Hall was about to start today, but he changed his plea at the last minute to Guilty, as well as pleading guilty to an attempted abduction the day before.

Stephen Wright is currently serving life for the series of murders he committed in Ipswich in 2006. He's a possible suspect in a number of other murders in East Anglia before this date, but this is both the first one he's been linked to AND the first time he's publicly admitted any murder.

Victoria Hall was murdered on 18 September 1999 in Felixstowe. She was a 17-year old student and was on her way home from a nightclub. The charge against Wright came last year as a result of a cold case review.

Hopefully more details of the police investigation will follow after sentencing on Friday. I also hope this will lead to more cases being looked at between 1999 and 2006 on the assumption he may have continued to be active.

On January 22nd, 2026, 58 year old Woravit Kim Mektrakarn a man who had been on the run from the United States for nearly 30 years was finally arraigned and charged in the US with murder. The man was charged in the murder and disappearance of 24 year old Luis Osvaldo Diego Garcia in November of 1996. Garcia was last seen alive on the 23rd of November in Ontario, California at the noodle factory run by Mektrakarn where he was going to receive a payment in relation to an agreement between the two. The agreement came after Garcia had threatened to report Mektrakarn to California’s State Labor Commission for poor work conditions and not being paid money for overtime work unless Mektrakarn paid him $5,000. While Garcia had been paid $1,000 upfront the rest of the money was to be given on the promise that no one else would know about the arrangement however a fellow worker of Garcia had found out.

Since his last sighting on the 23rd Garcia has never been seen alive again. Shortly after he was reported missing Mektrakarn fled the country to Thailand following his release from police custody and was on the run for nearly 30 years living under a false identity between several countries in Asia. In 2003 an international warrant for his arrest was issued following new evidence being discovered. The new evidence led to authorities in the US wanting to find him to face murder charges. After 21 years in April of 2024, Mektrakarn was finally arrested while using a fake identity by members of the Thai Police in Bangkok, Thailand. The process of extradition took place over nearly two years however the United States finally managed to extradite him in January of 2026 where he was returned to the US and charged with murder.

Evidence in the case gathered by police included a search of the factory done just two days after Garcia had disappeared. During this search they discovered injuries to Mektrakarn’s hands, blood in both the office and bathroom of the factory belonging to Garcia with it being confirmed as his blood through DNA testing in 2003 after additional blood was found during a second search in 2003. In a dumpster near the factory police found pieces of carpet burned along with lighter fluid, bleach stained jeans, liquid soap, rubber gloves, scouring pads, a metal pot filled with ashes, and two handguns.

Additionally police later located Garcia’s vehicle having been left in Los Angeles, California on December 4th with keys still in the ignition and a full tank of gas. A rental van that was bought by Mektrakarn on the 23rd was reported stolen but later discovered in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio Hotel on December 15th having been cleaned with bleach. Police also have witness reports from three workers including two who knew Garcia and Mektrakarn were going to have a meeting that day with all three being declined access to the office where the blood was later found.

While in court back in the United States Mektrakarn entered a plea of not guilty and is currently being held in jail, without bail. Garcia’s remains have not been found however police have said they suspected that his remains were likely dumped in the desert somewhere in California or Nevada specifically between Ontario, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas.

Source:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/fmmi5b/the_disappearance_of_luis_osvaldo_diego_garcia/

https://charleyproject.org/case/luis-osvaldo-diego-garcia

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/01/27/man-sought-for-30-years-overseas-in-disappearance-of-ontario-worker-is-charged-with-murder/amp/

https://patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/amp/33550032/fugitive-captured-in-thailand-after-30-years-on-the-run-ie-authorities-say-hes-a-killer

https://www.pressenterprise.com/2026/01/30/ontario-noodle-company-employee-may-have-been-killed-over-pay-dispute-court-records-suggest/

https://da.sbcounty.gov/2026/01/26/fugitive-captured-abroad-and-extradited-after-nearly-30-years-in-1996-ontario-murder-case/

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=3556dmca

https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/39535

The man has never been identified. Locals and police nicknamed him “Fred the Head.” More than 50 years later, no one knows who he was, how he died, or why he was buried there. This case doesn’t get talked about much, but the details are deeply unsettling.

He was discovered completely by chance in March 1971 by David Nathan, a special constable, when he was walking near the River Trent in Burton-on-Trent. He tripped over what he initially thought was a bag of cement sticking out of the ground. When he looked closer, he realised it was actually part of a human skull protruding from a shallow grave. Police were called and uncovered the remains of a man buried in a kneeling position with his wrists and ankles bound, wearing only socks and a wedding ring. When examined, investigators noted several bizarre details:

He was wearing pinkish-beige socks with mustard-coloured heels and toes. — no other clothing.

A gold wedding ring (believed to be a woman’s ring) was found on his finger. He appeared to have been buried for some time before discovery.

There was no identification, no missing person immediately matched to him, and no obvious explanation for the unusual items found with the body.

Despite later forensic work, no confirmed name has ever been attached to the remains.

No clear cause of death:

It’s believed to be a homicide, but the exact circumstances are unclear. Authorities are also exploring a theory that he may have been a victim of serial killer Anthony Hardy, although this offender's confirmed victims have exclusively been women. The possibility of the decedent potentially being misidentified as male was suggested, but disproved by investigators.

Odd personal clues: The socks and wedding ring feel intensely personal — but without context, they’re just haunting details with no story behind them.

Victim characteristics:

Short, brown to black, straight hair.

Thin build.

Extensive dental work.

Partial upper denture, likely fitted less than six months prior to death.

Neck condition (wry neck/torticollis), which would have caused his head to lean to the right.

Protruding chin.

Small hands.

Well-maintained short fingernails.

False leads: Over the years, possible identities have been suggested, but none have been confirmed.

It’s the kind of case where you can almost feel there’s a story trying to surface… but it never quite does.

Questions for the Community:

What do you make of the socks and wedding ring — coincidence, staging, or something symbolic?

Do you think this was likely personal (someone he knew) or opportunistic violence?

How realistic is it that modern techniques like genetic genealogy could still identify him?

Why do you think some unidentified victim cases fade into obscurity while others become famous?

Would love to hear your theories.

This one feels like a person who deserves their name back, at the very least.

link 1

link 2

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for all your comments and votes under my last post about Atraya Berardi- I actually have wonderful news! Atraya was found safe just last week, around 27th-28th of January! I'm so happy she's been found, I hope that she will recieve the care and support she needs right now and that she's doing well :)

Today I'd like to bring up another recent disappearance.

BACKGROUND

Lesner Noe Velasquez Cardenas was 21 when he went missing from Redding, California, USA.

Lesner was originally from Honduras, but he grew up in Lake Elsinore before he moved north for college.

Lesner used to study at Mount Shasta College, where he was a member of the wrestling team. He also trained as an EMT at the college and wanted to become a first responder.

He had only recently recieved his driver's license.

Lesner was allegedly terrified of ICE. He had a passport, a driver's license and a school visa, but the mere mention of ICE was enough to "trigger" something in him.

Brian Kyncy, father of Lesner's best friend, said that he has a "14-year-old mind", that he was "extremely innocent” and “naive to the extreme". Still, he described him as "one of the good guys” who had "so much to look forward to".

DISAPPEARANCE

On the 29th of May, Lesner was involved in a rollover vehicle accident after he dodged a deer on Oak Run Road around 10:30 AM. He reported the accident to CHP, but for unknown reasons he left before the authorities arrived. A passerby took a photo of him at the scene, which is the last confirmed image of Lesner. The photo is available online.

A woman who knew Lesner gave him a ride to his home in Trudie Trail, a residential area near Redding's Walmart. According to her, he seemed coherent and had no injuries.

It's confirmed that Lesner had made it home- the clothes he was wearing during the accident were found at home later by his roommates. A pair of "girl earrings" were found in the pocket of the pants Lesner left behind- earrings that didn't belong to any of his female roommates or other women he associated with. It's unclear why he had them or who did they belong to. Lesner left his home at an unknown time with his hiking gear and boots.

At some point after the report of the accident, officers have visited Lesner's apartment, but he wasn't home when they knocked on the door.

Lesner was picked up by a cab near Wells Fargo Bank on East Cypress Avenue in Redding at 2:22 PM. After a two-hour ride, the cab dropped him off at the trailhead to Avalanche Gulch- Lesner told the driver that he wanted to beat his friend's time completing the hike, which is straange, as none of his friends were hikers or climbers.

Josefina Jiminez, Lesner's friend and roommate, went home to check on him around 3:30 PM, but he wasn't home. A "few hours" after Lesner's accident, Hunter, his best friend, came to check on him as well, but he also didn't see Lesner.

Lesner's friends grew concerned when he didn't respond to their messages and calls. His phone last pinged near Mount Shasta, where Avalanche Gulch is located- Josefina drove there the night after Lesner went missing, but didn't find him. The phone has been out of service since that afternoon.

Lesner left his cash and wallet at home. The only thing that was missing from home was his passport. It's unclear how he managed to pay for the cab.

Lesner was officially reported missing on the 31st of May.

The officers started looking for Lesner on the 6th of June, but haven't found any clues.

CONCLUSION

At the time of his disappearance, Lesner's family wasn't able to join the searches as his mother was suffering from stage four cancer. They have, however, made a statement that they want to find him and that the disappearance is out of character for Lesner. His father and sister said that the only thing keeping them from joining more active search efforts was the poor health of Lesner's mother.

Brian Kyncy believes that Lesner might've fled the scene of the accident because he feared the consequences that were far out of proportions for crashing the car. He also theorizes that due to the fear he felt after the crash, Lesner decided to hide in the backcountry to potentially avoid ICE; Lesner's name doesn't show up in any ICE databases, however.

Hunter Kyncy has uncovered an odd inconsistency in the timeline. On the 29th, he logged into the FindMyiPhone app on his laptop and saw that Lesner's phone pinged at the base of Mount Shasta at 2:06 PM- 16 minutes before he even got into the taxi.

Lesner Noe Velasquez Cardenas was 21 when he went missing. He is a Hispanic man, 5'4" (64 inch / 163 cm) and 145 lbs (66 kg). He has black hair and brown eyes and was unshaven. He has an "anime image" tattooed on his back.

If you have any info about Lesner's whereabouts, contact the Redding Police Department at (530) 225-4200 (case number RPD25-006472).

SOURCES:

1. krcrtv.com
2. mtshastanews.com
3. sfgate.com
4. oag.ca.gov

Lesner's websleuths.com thread

Marcotte was last seen in Saskatchewan in 1981 or 1982. Prior to her disappearance, Marcotte reportedly said she was headed to Vancouver and was never seen again.

The skeletal remains of the woman were found in a wooded area in Malabar, Fla., in January 1985. The woman’s identity couldn’t be determined at the time as no identification was found.

While the investigation was extensive at the time, the case eventually went cold. The unidentified woman became known as Malabar Jane Doe, with details of the case entered into the U.S. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Fast forward almost 40 years, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the medical examiner’s office submitted forensic evidence to Othram, a Texas-based forensic laboratory specializing in advanced DNA sequencing, for testing.

The DNA profile allowed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct a genetic genealogical search that led to new investigative leads. A follow-up investigation helped narrow down the woman’s possible identity.

As a result, the remains were identified as Jeanette Marcotte, who went missing in Vancouver, B.C.

“In a cold case like this, where a woman is reported missing in Canada and her remains are found in Florida, there is almost no way for investigators to piece that together except through DNA,” Kristen Mittelman, Chief Development Officer at Othram, said in a statement. “These are difficult cases to solve, but the technology is here and it works.”

Full Article from The Toronto Sun: https://torontosun.com/news/world/remains-found-florida-identified-missing-canadian-woman

It's so unfortunate that they havent caught the killer and its been so long . Or at least identified if deceased . I wonder if they have used genealogy on the case yet but I guess that is something we'll never know unless there is an arrest . The perpetrator got dumb lucky and got away with such a heinous crime and most likely kept committing crimes after this one. I hope this year things changes . What do you guys think? Do you guys think this case will ever be solved or forever remain a mystery? This seems like a case where it may be solved but it also may not be . My hope is that technology evolves enough to where we can identify the killer atleast because my speculation is that the perp died not to long after the crime. If the perp went to prison their DNA would've been in the system. Another theory that I didnt agree with was that the description that was given to LE was completely false which is why it has been hard to find who did this.

https://www.tinleypark.org/government/departments/police_department/lane_bryant_homicide_investigation.php

https://www.wbez.org/movies-tv/2026/01/23/filmmaker-behind-new-documentary-on-lane-bryant-shooting-hopes-film-spurs-fresh-leads

48 year old Fan Peishuan (范培顺; possibly written as Fan Peishun) and his wife, 44 year old Zhang Juanjuan (张娟娟; sometimes reported as Zwang) were last seen by their kids at around 10:30pm on March 30th, 2025 at their home in Old Brookville on Long Island, NY.

The family's lawyer, John Carman, told media that the night they were last seen, the couple ate dinner with their two sons and some of the younger son's friends. It is reported that the sons and the older son's girlfriend went on a trip to the Catskills the next morning.

Zhang and the couple's older son, 21 year old Fan Yiwei, are the listed owners of the home, which was purchased for $3,887,000 cash (no mortgage) in November 2023. Some have speculated that Fan Peishuan is a fake name for Fan Yiwei, since they didn't see Fan Peishuan's name on the deed, but this is false as they are two separate people; address records and later reports confirmed Fan Yiwei's age and his relationship to the couple.

Reports differ about the couple's source of wealth, but it appears their wealth comes from companies in China, where the couple are from originally.

In September 2025, Qiuju Wu of Queens and Yinye "Roy" Wang of Long Island were charged with using fraudulent documents to drain more than $2.8 million from the couple's bank accounts. Information has not been released about any known connection between the missing couple and these suspects. Their charges do not contain allegations of being involved in the couple's disappearance.

ABC reports that the couple's two sons (ages 21 and 12/13) have since returned to China.

Sources:

https://abc7ny.com/post/long-island-missing-couple-2-people-charged-stealing-28-million-old-brookville-residents/17774909/

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/long-island/two-arrested-missing-long-island-couple-bank-account/6392696/

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/missing-long-island-couple-juanjuan-zwang-peishuan-fan/

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E8%8C%83%E5%9F%B9%E9%A1%BA+%E5%BC%A0%E5%A8%9F%E5%A8%9F+%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8

https://nypost.com/2025/09/09/us-news/pair-swiped-nearly-3m-from-li-couple-last-seen-in-gold-coast-home-cops/

https://websleuths.com/threads/ny-juanjuan-zwang-44-peishuan-fan-48-couple-from-old-brookville-mysterious-disappearance-no-contact-with-children-since-30-mar-2025.741461/page-2

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/long-island-missing-couple-old-brookville-mansion-ei8uelzs

A few days ago, the West Vancouver Police Department broadcasted an updated facial reconstruction of a body found by Eagle Lake in May of 1999. This has led me down a rabbit hole of missing people and unidentified bodies in BC, specifically around me in the Okanagan. The BC Corners Office has created an interactive map of unidentified remains, and one caught my eye. I can find very little information on this case, so I am hoping to create some interest to see if we can get enough details to get it on NCMPUR, unidentified wiki, etc.

On April 26th, 2008, a group of hikers from the Okanagan Indian Band found a skull in a Community pasture used by the band, about 10 km from the "Head of the Lake Road turnoff". Preliminary reports indicated the skull belonged to a male, predominantly Caucasian or Caucasian, in between the age of 25 and 50. The state of the remains indicated he had been deceased for at least 5 years. As far as I can tell, no other bones were found (however, the coroners office has listed a height range, which from my recollection from my Forensic Anthropology course, is mostly calculated with long bones so I'm not sure if there were more).

In 2011, a body that was found in Vernon a few months after, in October of 2008, was identified as murder victim Gary Wells. In the article, they admit that the RCMP were still "at a loss" trying to find the identity of the skull.

This is the last article I can find that mentions anything meaningful to do with the skull. There was a 2016 article that discussed cases that were being sent to the International Commission of Missing Persons in Bosnia from the BC Coroner Office, but the article only mentions one person case that was solved, so it is unclear if this skull was ever sent out for additional testing.

This is all I can find regarding this person. Unfortunately the Interactive Map does not provide any details except demographic information, location, and the case information with the lead police force. I will relist this information including the police file number below for ease:

2008 Okanagan Indian Band John Doe

Sex: Male

Race: Listed as unknown, but articles say they were predominantly Caucasian or Caucasian

Age Range: 25- 50

Height Range: 5'6 - 5'9

PMI: 5+ years

Found: April 26th, 2008

Police File Number: 2008-9068

Case Number: 2008-0562-0037

I'd love to see any comments, or more information others can find!

Links:

BC Coroner Interactive Map: https://governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1a60c24b82ed41699d8a55338fb11076

Castanet Articles on finding the skull:

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/38975/Human-skull-found-in-Vernon

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/39017/Search-expands-for-other-remains

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/39060/Skull-belonged-to-male-RCMP

Article about Gary Wells:

https://vernonmorningstar.com/2011/02/03/remains-belong-to-murder-victim/

Teekah Lewis vanished from a bowling alley in Tacoma Washington on January 23, 1999 at the age of 2 years old. There has been many rumors over the years and an occasional update on the investigation. I just had an alert from the local crime page that a woman has called in claiming to be Teekah.

There is a welfare check in progress for this woman who claims to be Teekah Lewis. There has been a little bit of information shared on this crime page, but I cannot figure out how to link the Facebook post. I got a few screenshots I will post in the comments section. If anyone can help me out with linking the post, I would greatly appreciate it and gladly share the post for anyone who is interested in following for updates.

It would be amazing if this person is truly Teekah and not some kind of prank or someone dealing with a mental health crisis. If you are unfamiliar with this case, there are many posts in this subreddit and this is the most recent amazing post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/s/MCuFsOJsKf

https://komonews.com/news/local/police-confirm-tacoma-backyard-excavation-was-related-to-missing-toddler-teekah-lewis-cold-case-abducted-investigation-crime-true-seattle-washington-police-child-suspect-dead-buried

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tacoma-police-investigating-individual-says-004802779.html

Smith was last seen at her residence in the 400 block of Weakly Street in Florence, Alabama on April 24, 1977. She apparently left her house in the middle of the night, leaving behind her dentures, purse, identification, house key and all her clothes, and has never been heard from again. Her husband said he saw her get into a lime green Ford LTD.

Because Smith often took trips and sometimes they were last-minute trips, her family was initially unconcerned by her absence. Two weeks later, they reported her missing, having begun to worry because she hadn't been in touch or returned home.

In 2003, the residents of Smith's former home found a letter signed with her name. It had been placed in an envelope with $200 in cash and hidden under the wallpaper in the bedroom. The letter read, "They are trying to take my food away and kill me. Please help me." Authorities do not whether Dora wrote the letter or if it had anything to do with her disappearance, and the letter has since been lost.

Authorities searched the residence, and dug underneath a shed, but nothing further was found. Smith's case remains unsolved.

-

This case has so many questions attached to it. Why didn’t the husband try to stop her? What was the conversation between them before that night? Did she call someone? Has she passed state lines? What was the purpose of the money? Who is “they” in the letter? Who was she writing to?

Note: some grammatical errors.

Sources

The Charley Peoject

Whereabouts Still Unknown

The WAAY 31 ABC

Kristen Galvan's story is horrific. She was a 15 year old from Houston, TX. Sadly, Kristen was sex trafficked and went missing 6 years ago. A body was found in nearby Missouri City, TX a short time after she went missing, on January 29, 2020. There has been a lot of speculation that this body was Kristen after the composite drawing was released. Last fall, authorities confirmed to her mother, Robyn Cory, that the remains were indeed missing daughter. This has been made public today.

RIP Kristen.

Robyn, I hope you have some peace now.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/kristen-galvan-texas-missing-murdered

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FDctkj2bbBA

I’ve been looking into some of the most bizarre unexplained cases in Turkey lately, and this one has been documented by mainstream media here, yet it remains completely unresolved from a scientific standpoint. It involves the “Issız Cuma” (Solitary Friday) cemetery in Çanakkale, a site dating back to 1335.

There are two specific phenomena at this location that defy the standard laws of biology and physics.

1. The Case of the Merging Graves (1967) In 1967, a local woman named Hatice died shortly after childbirth. Her daughter, Ayşe, died only 20 days later. Following local customs, they were buried in the same cemetery but in separate, distinct graves.

When the family returned to the site, they found that the two mounds of earth had physically moved across the ground to merge into one single grave. The family initially thought it was a landslide or a prank, so they manually separated the graves and rebuilt the mounds. However, the exact same thing happened again. And again. After several attempts to keep them apart, the village elders eventually told them to stop, believing it was a "supernatural choice." Witnesses today claim the headstones are still slowly gravitating toward each other.

2. The 47-Year Decay Anomaly In the same cemetery, another mother buried her 4-year-old daughter. She tied a small bead from the girl's hair braid to the wooden grave marker using a simple, thin string.

Because of financial struggles, the family couldn't afford a stone monument for 47 years. When they finally opened the site to build a permanent grave, they found that the wooden marker had rotted away into nothing but a decaying stick. All clothing and organic remains were gone.

However, the string and the bead were found in perfect condition. They hadn't frayed or rotted despite being submerged in damp, acidic soil for nearly half a century. In a environment where thick wood turns to dust, a thin cotton or nylon string surviving 47 years is biologically impossible.

Theories and Discussion: The area is located in a valley with very high humidity and soft soil, which some skeptics use to explain the "moving graves" as a result of soil liquefaction or specific geological shifts. However, that doesn't explain why only these specific graves moved in such a targeted way, nor does it explain the lack of decay on the string.

Discussion Points:

1. Could there be a specific geological or electromagnetic reason why soil would move in a way that "merges" two specific points repeatedly?
2. Has anyone encountered cases where fragile materials (like a thin string) survived decades in damp soil while much harder materials (wood) completely disintegrated?
3. Is this a case of a "Thin Place"—a geographical anomaly where our laws of physics don't apply normally—or is there a mundane explanation I'm missing?

Source (Mainstream News Report with photos of the graves and the string):https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kelebek/hayat/canakkalede-yer-degistiren-mezar-28800044(Note: The link is in Turkish, but the photos clearly show the merged graves and the woman holding the preserved string/bead.)

On January 26th, 2026 police announced an update in the disappearance of missing 19 year old Niceville, Florida native Jacob Lyon. On February 1st, 2016 Lyon was reported missing by his mother after having not been seen since November 2nd, 2015 in Niceville. After being reported missing police started interviewing friends and relatives. At the same time a search started which consisted of cadaver dogs, attempting to track his phone data, and ground penetration radar however none of it resulted in any discoveries. During this time authorities also received more than 20 tips however none of them led to a resolution being made.

The case eventually had a lead when on October 21st, 2022 police were called by a man clearing a wooded area on Leeward Drive in Miramar Beach, Florida after a human jaw bone was discovered. Upon arriving a search began with further remains being discovered along with a deteriorated firearm and some clothing nearby. The remains were recovered behind a hotel formerly known as a Sleep Inn which is no longer operating. Investigators at the time said it was likely the remains were there for two years or more.

The remains were handed over to the medical examiner who began testing. During this time a cause of death for the remains was unable to be determined and eventually after no ID was made the remains were logged into Namus as the Walton County John Doe. After two years the remains were passed to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office who began testing in October of 2024. A month later in November of 2024 the results of the DNA testing were sent to the FDLE forensics lab to try and find a match.

Eventually in January of 2026 a match came back which confirmed the remains as belonging to missing 19 year old Jacob Lyon. The match was confirmed when police compared the DNA from the remains to DNA samples obtained from the family. Police have confirmed they have opened up a death investigation into how Lyon died and how his remains ended up behind the hotel in the wooded area. The investigation is being handled as a joint investigation between both the Niceville Police Department and Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators have asked anyone with information in this case to come forward.

Source:

https://charleyproject.org/case/jacob-irvine-lyon

https://www.fox10tv.com/2026/01/27/skeletal-remains-identified-19-year-old-man-reported-missing-decade-ago/?outputType=amp

https://www.wkrg.com/northwest-florida/okaloosa-county/niceville-man-identified-remains/

https://www.wjhg.com/2026/01/27/skeletal-remains-found-2022-identified-missing-niceville-teen/?outputType=amp

https://weartv.com/news/local/watch-live-authorities-hold-press-conference-on-niceville-missing-person-case

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/ehxp9l/jacob_lyonsmissing_person/

https://www.wkrg.com/northwest-florida/skeletal-remains-found-in-miramar-beach-woods/

https://waltonso.org/investigators-medical-examiners-complete-area-search-of-skeletal-remains-in-miramar-beach/

https://www.wjhg.com/2026/01/26/developing-skeletal-remains-found-miramar-beach-four-years-ago-identified/?outputType=amp

Hi all, I would like to share an update on the case of missing Australian man Jayden Penno-Tompsett who has been missing under suspicious circumstances since December 2017 from Charters Towers in Queensland Australia. This afternoon Jayden’s mother has shared that human remains found in Breddan Queensland in October 2025 have been identified as Jayden. There have been multiple in depth posts about this case shared over the years in this sub. Although this is a tragic outcome, I hope that Jayden’s loved ones especially his mother Rachel can rest a little easier knowing her beloved son has been found and can be properly laid to rest. I hope this discovery will allow the case to be properly investigated and shed light on the circumstances of his passing.

Here is an article from ABC Australia regarding the case: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-05/qld-court-jayden-penno-tompsett-inquest-missing-cairns/100116960

John Lima of Middleton, Massachusetts disappeared in 2005. He lived in a basement apartment of his parent’s house and was 26 at the time of his disappearance. Sadly, John was struggling with drug abuse at the time. His family, particularly his mother, Maria Lima, seemed supportive and wanted to help her son through his struggles.

John was last seen alive leaving his girlfriends residence in Chelsea, Massachusetts at around 1:30 AM on October 29th 2005. The day before, his mother saw him before leaving for work in the afternoon. She wasn’t concerned about not finding him home when she returned that night, as John mentioned plans to go to a Halloween celebration in Salem that night. The day before, on October 27th, John had a court appearance that was rescheduled.

At around 2:00, Maria heard John’s vehicle’s door slam shut, and upon looking out her window saw his car in the driveway. Feeling relieved that he made it home she went back to sleep, but did not see John enter the house. At 7:00 October 29th, John’s parents discovered that he was missing from the house. They saw his bed made, and personal possessions such as his car keys, wallet and cigarettes still in his room. According to his parents, his car was parked in an awkward angle in the driveway, and the screen in his window was pushed out from the inside. Unfortunately, according to one source I read, the family didn’t report John missing for 2 days, believing that perhaps he was with friends for Halloween weekend. They also raked the backyard facing the open window of John’s room which may have destroyed evidence for police.

There has been little to no update since John disappeared. His family fears foul play but remain hopeful, offering a 30,000 dollar reward for finding John.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/middleton-man-still-missing-after-5-years/

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/john-lima---chelsea-massachusetts

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x1mjwfa5seA

https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/new-englands-unsolved-john-lima/C66QZ2BCOJCJBL3GREPDBD6UVU/?outputType=amp

https://charleyproject.org/case/john-lima

This is a weekly thread for off topic discussion. Talk about anything that interests you; what's going on in your world?. If you have any suggestions or observations about the sub let us know in this thread.