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Parents rely on schools not just to deliver quality education but also to ensure the safety and security of their children. They place immense trust in these institutions to care for their kids during school hours. Sadly, there are tragic cases where children leave for school and never return home.
10. Roger Ellison
On the morning of February 10, 1981, around 8:30 AM, 17-year-old Roger Ellison arrived at Cedaredge High School in Colorado and placed his books in his shared locker. This would be the last verified sighting of Roger, as he skipped all his classes that day and vanished without a trace. A bright and well-liked student with a college acceptance already secured, Roger left behind all his possessions, making a voluntary disappearance unlikely. Suspicion soon fell on John Pash, a social studies teacher and wrestling coach at the school.
Shortly after Roger vanished, Pash visited his mother and suggested that Roger had been struggling with personal issues and suicidal thoughts, a claim she dismissed. Pash’s residence, situated adjacent to the school, was a place Roger often visited to submit his homework. In 1994, a classmate of Roger’s speculated that his body might be buried beneath Pash’s former home. Although Pash had sold the property by then, authorities used ground-penetrating radar to investigate. They identified irregularities under the garage’s concrete floor but chose not to excavate. John Pash has consistently denied any involvement, and over three decades later, Roger Ellison remains missing.
9. Bianca Lebron
Bianca Lebron, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Elias Howe School in Bridgeport, Connecticut, arrived at school on November 7, 2001, and mentioned to her friends and teacher that her uncle would be taking her shopping later. Around 8:30 AM, she was observed entering a brown van with tinted windows, driven by a Hispanic man in his twenties. Assuming the driver was her uncle, the school staff saw nothing unusual and marked her absent. This was the last time Bianca was seen.
Bianca, however, had no uncle, and her family did not own a brown van. This confusion delayed her being reported missing until that evening. Jason Gonzalez, a 20-year-old who allegedly had a relationship with Bianca, became a suspect. He left town a month after her disappearance and avoided speaking to police for nearly two years. While Gonzalez matched the driver’s description and had a friend with a brown van, he provided an alibi for that morning. Bianca’s mother, after declaring her daughter legally dead, sued the school for negligence in allowing her to leave with an unknown man. Despite this, the mystery of Bianca’s disappearance remains unsolved.
8. Deanie Peters
On February 5, 1981, 14-year-old Deanie Peters was at Forrest Hills Central Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, attending her younger brother’s wrestling practice. She informed her mother she was heading to the restroom but never made it there, with her last known sighting being her exit through the gymnasium door. She left behind all her money and personal items at home. Over time, several suspects emerged, including the school custodian and two girls involved in a physical fight with Deanie just two days prior to her disappearance. The most compelling suspect, however, was Bruce Bunch, a junior at Forrest Hills when Deanie went missing.
Bunch had a reputation for violence and abuse, and witnesses reported hearing him confess to killing Deanie. A female acquaintance stated that on the night Deanie vanished, Bunch was panicked, claiming he had accidentally struck a girl with his car in a school parking lot. Although he never specified the girl’s name or the school, Bunch and his associates allegedly buried the victim under a pile of rocks. Tragically, Bunch died of a heart attack in 2008 before a thorough investigation could be conducted. Authorities have since assured that anyone who assisted Bunch in disposing of Deanie’s body would face no charges if they provided information. Despite this, no one has come forward, leaving Deanie Peters’ fate shrouded in mystery.
7. Sarah Kinslow
On the morning of May 1, 2001, around 7:20 AM, 14-year-old Sarah Kinslow was dropped off at Greenville Middle School in Greenville, Texas, by her father. However, Sarah had no plans to attend school that day. She and a few friends had arranged to skip classes and gather at a nearby cemetery, but Sarah never arrived and has been missing ever since. Police dogs tracked her scent from the school, but the trail went cold after two blocks.
Among those Sarah was supposed to meet at the cemetery was her 18-year-old boyfriend, Curtis Wayne Bell. Sarah’s parents disapproved of their relationship, and her diary revealed her desire to marry Curtis and flee to Mexico with him. Weeks after her disappearance, surveillance footage from a Greenville gas station showed Sarah and Curtis together. Curtis initially denied it was Sarah, claiming he was with another girl, and later disputed that the person in the video was even him. Years later, Sarah’s parents received an anonymous note in their mailbox with details about her possible location. The note’s author eventually came forward, alleging that Sarah’s body had been dumped in a rock quarry. However, no evidence has been found to support this claim, leaving Sarah Kinslow’s disappearance unresolved.
6. Bryan Hayes, Mark Degner
Bryan Hayes, aged 13, and Mark Degner, aged 12, were special needs students with developmental disabilities at Paxon Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida, and they shared a close friendship. On February 10, 2005, around 1:15 PM, the two boys had a disagreement with a teacher and fled the school. A witness reported seeing Bryan entering a car outside the building. Neither Bryan nor Mark has been seen since.
Initially, it was thought that Bryan and Mark had run away voluntarily. They had reportedly shared their plans to run away with friends, and a third boy had considered joining them before changing his mind. The day before they vanished, Bryan and Mark were caught attempting to sneak off their school bus. However, they left behind all their personal belongings, including their book bags and Bryan’s coat. Both boys had bipolar disorder and relied on daily medication, which they did not take with them. Two months later, there were alleged sightings of the boys in Holly Hill, Florida, but police were unable to locate them. Tragically, after eight years, Bryan and Mark remain missing.
5. Kara Kopetsky
On May 4, 2007, 17-year-old Kara Kopetsky, a student at Belton High School in Missouri, had a heated argument with a teacher during the morning. Frustrated, Kara decided to leave school for the day. Surveillance footage showed her exiting the building around 10:30 AM, but her whereabouts after that remain unknown. When Kara failed to return home or show up for her 4:00 PM shift at Popeye’s Chicken, her family reported her missing. Given her history of running away, authorities initially suspected she had done so again. However, she left all her belongings behind, kept her phone off, and has not used her bank account since her disappearance.
A key suspect in Kara’s disappearance was her ex-boyfriend, Kylr Yust, against whom she had recently obtained a protective order. Kylr was accused of stalking and threatening Kara, and her last phone call that morning was to his voicemail. Despite this, Kylr cooperated with investigators and appeared to have an alibi for the time Kara vanished. Roughly two weeks later, there was an unverified sighting of Kara with an unidentified man in Louisburg, Kansas, but authorities could not confirm it was her. Kara’s destination after leaving school remains unknown, and she has been missing for over six years.
4. Alexis Patterson
On May 3, 2002, seven-year-old Alexis Patterson walked to Hi-Mount Boulevard School in Milwaukee with her stepfather. After arriving, she was last seen heading toward the playground before her stepfather left. Alexis never attended her classes, though other students reported seeing her crying on the playground both before and after school. These were the final confirmed sightings of Alexis, and her family was not informed of her absence until that afternoon. Despite an extensive search, no trace of her was found.
Alexis had never missed a day of school before her disappearance. It was speculated that she skipped class after an argument with her mother the previous night. As a consequence, Alexis was not allowed to bring cupcakes to school as planned, which may explain her absence from class. However, she was still seen lingering on the playground. Some students recalled a suspicious red truck parked near the school in the days leading up to her disappearance, which vanished afterward. Months later, an anonymous tipster claimed Alexis’ remains were in the Milwaukee River, but a search yielded no results, and the caller’s identity remains a mystery. Over a decade later, Alexis Patterson’s whereabouts are still unknown.
3. Kyron Horman
On June 4, 2010, Terri Moulton Horman brought her seven-year-old stepson, Kyron, to Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. They arrived after 8:00 AM, and Terri stayed to assist Kyron with setting up a science fair exhibit. Terri stated that after the 8:45 AM bell, Kyron headed toward his classroom as she left the school. When Kyron did not return home that afternoon, Terri reported him missing, but extensive searches yielded no clues. Kyron never attended any of his classes that day, and while a witness confirmed seeing him and Terri at the exhibit around 8:15 AM, there were no further verified sightings of Kyron at the school.
Suspicion soon turned to Terri when investigators found inconsistencies between her cell phone records and her reported activities that day. A landscaper later revealed that Terri had previously offered him money to kill her husband. Authorities attempted a sting operation, having the landscaper wear a wire to gather evidence, but Terri did not make any incriminating statements. Following these revelations, Terri’s husband filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against her, believing she was involved in Kyron’s disappearance. Kyron’s biological mother also accused Terri and filed a lawsuit against her in 2012. Despite these accusations, no concrete evidence links Terri to Kyron’s disappearance, and he remains missing.
2. Kiplyn Davis
On May 2, 1995, 15-year-old Kiplyn Davis, a sophomore at Spanish Fork High School in Utah, had a normal morning at school. After eating lunch with her friends in the cafeteria, Kiplyn did not attend her remaining classes and never returned home. She left all her personal items in her locker. When her parents reported her missing, authorities initially thought she had run away due to a family argument earlier that day. It wasn’t until 2005 that the Davis family got some answers. Five men—four of whom were students at Kiplyn’s school when she disappeared—were charged with perjury. Two of them, David Rucker Leifson and Timmy Brent Olsen, were suspected of raping and murdering Kiplyn, while the others allegedly helped create a false alibi.
The five men claimed they were setting up lights in the school auditorium when Kiplyn vanished. However, a community choir performing in the auditorium that day disputed their story, stating they never saw the men there. Olsen was eventually charged with first-degree murder, but in 2011, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a lighter sentence. He admitted to witnessing another man strike Kiplyn with a rock and helping dispose of her body. Despite this, Olsen has refused to identify his accomplice or reveal the location of Kiplyn’s body, leaving her officially classified as missing.
1. Cary Sayegh
On October 25, 1978, six-year-old Cary Sayegh vanished during lunchtime recess at Albert Einstein Hebrew Day School in Las Vegas. Witnesses reported seeing Cary enter a vehicle that had driven onto the school grounds. Later that day, Cary’s parents received a ransom call demanding $500,000 for his safe return. The caller promised to provide payment instructions in two days but never contacted them again. Suspicion quickly fell on Jerry Burgess, a former employee of Cary’s father.
Burgess had been involved in a sexual assault at Cary’s school just a week before the disappearance and was identified as the driver of the suspicious vehicle. When the ransom call came in, a neighbor who answered the phone recognized Burgess’ voice. Burgess later led authorities to one of Cary’s shoes on a nearby road, claiming he was merely acting as a mediator between the Sayegh family and the kidnappers. Charged with kidnapping in 1982, Burgess was acquitted. In 2000, while arrested for another crime, Burgess allegedly mentioned disposing of Cary’s body by welding his remains inside a steel drum. Records showed Burgess had rented welding equipment shortly before Cary’s disappearance. Despite these allegations, Burgess has always denied involvement, and others may have been complicit. Over 35 years later, Cary Sayegh’s case remains unresolved.
