Buzz
When someone goes missing, it is typical for authorities to be informed immediately, leading to the person being officially listed as missing. However, there are cases where individuals vanish for years without anyone realizing they are gone.
10. Elizabeth Eisel and Katherine Lowery
Born in 1962, Elizabeth Eisel was placed for adoption. After her adoptive mother and brother died in a car crash in 1981, Elizabeth sought to reconnect with her biological family. She found her birth mother’s son, Steven DeLoge, and relocated to Bellevue, Washington. In September 1985, Elizabeth vanished, leaving behind all her possessions. Due to her estrangement from her adoptive family, she was not reported missing until 1988.
Despite being half-siblings, Elizabeth and Steven developed a romantic relationship shortly after meeting and had a child together. Their relationship soured in 1985, leading both to see other people. Following a heated argument, Elizabeth intended to leave Steven and move in with her new boyfriend, but she disappeared soon after. Steven alleged that Elizabeth chose to abandon their son, yet he himself left the child months later when he relocated to Idaho with another woman. In 1999, Steven, living under a false name in Mississippi with Katherine Lowery, became a suspect in her disappearance. He was later convicted of sexually abusing Lowery’s eight-year-old and received six consecutive life sentences. To this day, neither Elizabeth Eisel nor Katherine Lowery have been located.
9. Marie and Theodore Jost
In August 2012, the Social Security Administration sought to locate Marie Jost, a 100-year-old resident of Portage County, Wisconsin, who was still receiving her Social Security payments. Intriguingly, her 74-year-old son, Theodore, had never applied for his benefits. Police visited Marie’s home and questioned her other son, Charles, who insisted that Marie and Theodore were traveling together. Authorities grew suspicious and interviewed Marie’s daughter, Delores Disher, and her husband, Ronald, who provided inconsistent accounts of Marie’s whereabouts.
The Dishers alleged that Marie and Theodore had been touring the country in a motor home for three decades. Charles would forward Marie’s Social Security checks to her for signing, then cash them upon their return. Investigators suspected Marie had died in the 1980s, and Charles and Delores hid her death to continue collecting her benefits. Large sums of cash were discovered in their homes, and cadaver dogs detected human remains at Marie’s residence. Charles, Delores, and Ronald were arrested for theft, mail fraud, and forgery. Ronald reportedly confessed to inmates that he and Delores killed Marie. While the trio awaits trial, Marie and Theodore remain missing.
8. Garnell Moore
The image above shows a digital age progression of Garnell up to the age of 11.
With his mother incarcerated and his father leading an unstable life, Garnell Moore was primarily raised by relatives in Baltimore during his early years. He eventually moved in with his aunt, Belinda Cash, and stayed with her until he was seven. However, Belinda never registered Garnell for school, and since she lacked legal custody, social services never monitored his well-being. The last confirmed sighting of Garnell occurred in August 2002 when a great-aunt visited him. Soon after, Belinda relocated, and her family lost contact with her until June 2005.
When Belinda was found, Garnell was no longer in her care, and she claimed he was on a school trip in Virginia. This explanation raised suspicions since school was not in session at the time, prompting authorities to investigate Garnell’s disappearance. Belinda later altered her story, stating she had left Garnell at a social services facility in West Baltimore
7. Adam Herrman
At just two years old, Adam Herrman was removed from his birth parents and placed in foster care with Doug and Valerie Herrman, who eventually adopted him. By 1999, the family resided in a mobile home park in Towanda, Kansas, where Adam, then 11, allegedly ran away in May of that year after Valerie disciplined him with a belt. Doug and Valerie admitted they didn’t report Adam missing, citing his history of running away and fearing repercussions for their disciplinary actions, which might lead to losing custody of their other children. They falsely informed relatives that Adam had been returned to state care, all while continuing to receive adoption subsidy payments for him.
Adam’s absence went unnoticed until 2008, when his adoptive siblings alerted the police. They revealed Valerie’s history of abusing Adam, a claim supported by other relatives who recounted witnessing her locking him in the bathroom or chaining him up. Doug and Valerie were charged with felony theft for continuing to collect adoption subsidies after Adam vanished. They accepted a plea deal, requiring restitution and a few months in prison. Despite their release, they remain the primary suspects in Adam’s disappearance, which remains unresolved.
6. Robby Floyd
In 1996, five members of the same family vanished without explanation, and their disappearance went unreported for more than a year. Robby Floyd, 32, resided in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with her husband, Jason, though they were separated at the time. She had three children—Sarena, 12, and twins Brent and Brenttany, 4—from prior relationships, as well as a son, Brandon, with Jason. In December, a neighbor observed Robby packing boxes into her van, claiming she was heading to Alabama to visit her sick father. Notably, she was accompanied by an unidentified woman she referred to as her mother, though Robby’s real mother had not visited during that time.
Robby left with Sarena, Brent, Brenttany, and her 17-year-old sister, Jennifer Hughes. Jason and Brandon stayed behind, and Jason later stated Robby called him from Alabama to confirm her arrival. However, Robby and her family never came back. Jason and Brandon moved away two months later. While authorities do not suspect Jason’s involvement, he never reported his wife or her relatives missing. Robby never visited her father, and due to her limited communication with family, they didn’t report her missing until August 1998. Since 1996, there has been no activity on the Social Security numbers of the five missing individuals, and they remain unaccounted for.
5. Jun Ren
In February 1990, Jun Ren relocated from China to Sydney, Australia, and by December of that year, she married Bi Kui, settling in the Kemps Creek suburb. Their marriage quickly deteriorated, as Bi was rumored to have connections to Asian organized crime, and Jun confided in friends that he had embezzled $100,000 from a Chinese company. Jun also reportedly had an abortion, expressing to a friend her disdain for her husband and refusal to bear his child. In May 1991, Jun tried to leave Bi, staying with her friend Helen Liu. However, Bi eventually tracked her down and took her away. This was the last time anyone saw Jun.
Jun had no contact with her friends or family for two years. It wasn’t until 1993 that Helen Liu finally reported her missing to the police. Helen claimed that after Jun’s disappearance, she confronted Bi, who insisted Jun had left him for a wealthy man abroad. When Helen pressed Bi to report Jun missing, he allegedly raped her, which may explain her delay in contacting the authorities. Despite investigations into Bi Kui, no evidence has linked him to Jun’s disappearance. Over two decades later, Jun Ren’s body has never been found, and her case remains unresolved.
4. Christina Richart
Christina Richart and her two younger brothers were sent to live with their aunt and uncle, Wanda and Charles “Bubba” Richart, in Ozark, Arkansas, after their parents became unable to care for them. In 1997, one of Christina’s brothers was removed from the home by the Arkansas Department of Human Services following abuse allegations. A similar situation occurred with her other brother in 2000 after the family moved to Fordyce. However, during this period, Christina vanished without a trace. The last confirmed sighting of her was in June 1999 when she was 14 years old.
Wanda and Bubba insisted they lost touch with Christina in 2000. However, they continued to cash her Social Security benefits checks after her disappearance. Authorities only intervened in 2005 when a witness came forward, alleging that after a dispute, Wanda took Christina into the bathroom. Behind the closed door, the witness heard the bathtub filling and Christina’s screams. When the door opened, Christina appeared lifeless. While Bubba denied involvement in her death, he later admitted to burying her body in a wooded area. Both Wanda and Bubba were charged with lying to law enforcement. After plea deals, Bubba received 20 years in prison, and Wanda was sentenced to 30 years. Despite this, they were never charged with Christina’s murder, and her remains have never been located.
3. Michelle Pulsifer
In 1969, four-year-old Michelle Pulsifer lived in Huntington Beach, California, with her mother Donna, her six-year-old brother Richard, Donna’s abusive boyfriend Michael Kent, and his son. Richard recalled the last time he saw Michelle in July of that year, when she hid in his room, terrified, before Donna took her away. The next day, Richard noticed a large, blanket-covered box in the garage and was warned by his mother not to touch it. Shortly after, the family moved to Illinois without Michelle, with Donna claiming there wasn’t enough space in the car for her.
Over the years, Michelle’s biological father attempted to locate her. Donna provided inconsistent explanations, saying she left Michelle with friends or relatives. Despite discrepancies in her stories, Michelle’s father couldn’t file a missing persons report due to Donna’s full custody. In 2001, Michelle’s aunt hired a private investigator, who found no records of Michelle after July 1969. Law enforcement took over the case, and in 2004, Donna and Michael were charged with Michelle’s murder. Before his death in February 2005, Michael confessed to helping Donna bury Michelle’s body in a remote gorge after finding her dead in her bedroom. Donna denied the accusations, but with Michael’s death, there was insufficient evidence to convict her of murder. After two mistrials, the charges against Donna were dropped, leaving Michelle Pulsifer’s fate unresolved.
2. Walter Dunson
In June 1998, the Social Security Administration contacted 97-year-old Walter Dunson of Cincinnati, asking him to meet with a representative to confirm he was still alive. Four days later, Walter’s son, Gary Adams, reported him missing, claiming Walter vanished while they were shopping at Findlay Market. Gary stated he had lived with his father in a rented house for 18 years, but the landlord and neighbors had no memory of Walter, and Gary’s own son had never met his grandfather. Investigators grew suspicious of Gary’s account and concluded that Walter Dunson had likely been missing for almost 20 years.
The last confirmed sighting of Walter was in 1980 when he was hospitalized for dementia. After that, there was no record of Walter, and no one except Gary claimed to have seen him. However, Walter’s pension and Social Security benefits had been collected since 1970, with Gary co-signing over $100,000 worth of checks and depositing them into his own account. It is believed Walter may have died in the 1980s, and Gary concealed his death to continue receiving benefits. Gary was convicted on 25 counts of theft of public funds and sentenced to 27 months in prison. Whether Gary caused Walter’s death or Walter died naturally remains unknown, and his body has never been found.
1. Lena Chapin
Between January and April 2006, 20-year-old Liehnia “Lena” Chapin from Dent County, Missouri, vanished. The details of her disappearance remain unclear, as she wasn’t officially reported missing until November 2008. Her mother, Sandra McCullough-Klemp, claimed Lena had gone to Florida with a boyfriend. However, Lena left behind her infant son, and when her biological father inquired about her, he discovered she had been gone for over two years and filed a missing persons report. Speculation arose that Lena’s disappearance might be connected to her stepfather’s vanishing seven years earlier.
At just 13 years old, Lena witnessed her mother Sandra’s troubled marriage to Gary McCullough, who disappeared in May 1999. Sandra was allegedly involved with Kristopher Klemp, whom she married a year after Gary’s disappearance. In 2003, Lena told Gary’s brother that Sandra shot Gary three times in the head and forced her to help clean the scene and dispose of the body. However, when authorities were informed, Lena retracted her statement. Gary’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sandra in 2012, recently winning $8 million in damages. Still, it remains unclear if these events are linked to Lena Chapin’s disappearance.
