Missing People Are Not Always Dead, Just Ask Nancy Salas Or Others Who Have Been Found.. 12-22-11

Why has Drew Peterson not been charged for the murder of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson? LINK (He is charged with murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio. LINK.) Similar questions have been asked about Josh Powell. The fact is sometimes, missing people do turn up alive. Legal Pub explored this phenomenon when it discussed missing person John Darwin's re-entrance into society. JOHN DARWIN LINK. Other cases of missing folks turning up alive spark an inquiry as to why people sometimes disappear. The reasons are not always the same and usually are not pleasant.

For example, Nancy Salas appeared to be a beautiful young woman about to graduate from UCLA. This Glendale woman allegedly disappeared while jogging which caused a massive search. She was recently discovered alive and it was learned that she made up a story that she'd been abducted at knife point. I turns out that she fled because of stress. Salas turned up in a carpet store in Merced California. Initially, Salas told police she'd been abducted by a man at knife point. She later retracted her story admitting that she made it up because of feeling intense pressure from her family and friends. (Salas had apparently misled her parents by telling them she was attending the UCLA when in fact she apparently was not enrolled since the fall of 2008.
Salas had been praised by family, neighbors, friends, and church, as being a successful student and she apparently just could not handle the pressure. So, stress can be a reason for wanting to disappear.

Sometimes the reason appears to be as a result of crime. A South Carolina elderly woman who deputies think may have been kidnapped was found in the trunk of her car. 78-year-old Margaret Gooding was found in the trunk about 30 miles away in a Walterboro parking lot. Exactly how she got in the trunk was not completely clear but it may have occurred after a home invasion. Further investigation reveals that Gooding apparently used her own pistol to shoot back at one of the men who invaded her home in December of 2009. She then survived more than 12 hours in the trunk of her car with a bullet wound in her stomach. (Gooding had apparently hired Stevie Aiken and two others to do yard work around her home. Aiken apparently threw a brick through a side window of Gooding’s home. He allegedly put a gun through the window, demanding Gooding go open the front door. Gooding attempted to run and was shot at by Aiken. She was able to get to her gun. According to Sheriff Smalls, Gooding fired off a few rounds but apparently did not hit Aikens. Crime was the likely culprit for this disappearance.

Sometimes the reason for the disappearance may be fear. For example, a 34 year-old Salt Lake City woman (name withheld) was missing in March of 2010. Her disappearance triggered an Endangered Persons Advisory Alert. It turned out that the 34-year-old woman was found in her basement crawlspace hiding. Police had received a call at about 2:30 a.m. sending them to the woman's home in Salt Lake City. Police could hear suspicious sounds in the background. (Perhaps arguing with a boyfriend.) When authorities arrived, they searched the house and could not find the woman. Her car was also missing, but her purse was still in the house. An Endangered Persons Advisory Alert was then issued. The woman was subsequently found alive and well. Police called the incident "suspicious".

Sarah Pallis, a 26 year-old Helena women was found in May of 2010 after being reported missing. She was found at the Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel. Pallis was taken to St. Peter's Hospital emergency room but the injuries were not clear. Her parents had reported Pallis missing when she did not show up for work. While it is fortunate that she turned up alive and well, the exact details of her disappearance were not initially known. Depression may have been a factor.

Bennie Wint resurfaced over twenty years after folks thought he had drowned. BENNIE WINT LINK.

Sometimes, a persons life is so miserable they fantasize about a fresh start. A new identity. Overtimes, fear makes a person want to disappear or run away. Other times, people are victims of random crime and their disappearance is beyond their control. Finally, sometimes, the boyfriend, husband or ex truly is the reason for the disappearance. However, each case deserves a thorough investigation without an automatic jump to conclusions. This is especially true when dealing with high profile cases such as Drew Peterson and Josh Powell. (Susan Powell was last seen at her West Valley City home on Dec. 7. Her husband Josh told police he saw his wife as he left with the couple's young sons for an overnight desert camping trip.) Police have called Josh Powell a person of interest but he has not been arrested or charged. And as always, all suspects are presumed innocent unless otherwise proven in a court of law....

Update 6-23-10: See Jimmie's comment about Kelly Guzman. She disappeared for 11 days under unusual circumstances and turned up alive...

Update 6-24-10: Speaking of missing people who turn up alive, Jennifer Wilbanks is back in the news. You may recall that she was the woman who disappeared and then fibbed to police about being abducted and sexually abused in order to avoid her marriage ceremony in 2005. The runaway bride is supposedly going to try marriage again. Let's wish her groom luck....

Update 8-19-10: Can Trudie Hall be added to the list? Police in Massachusetts are investigating the mysterious disappearance of Trudie. Hall is pregnant. She has been missing for almost a month. Media has suggested that Hall may have been married to two men and leading a double life. (She may have been involved in marrying foreigners to help them gain immigration status in this country.) Police describe Hall as a 23-year-old native of Jamaica. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. She was last seen July 27, when she left her Nantucket home for a doctor's appointment. Despite finding blood in a rental car as well as some bullet casings, the possibility that Hall may be alive has not been ruled out. Friends and family are holding out hope. Only time may tell.

Update 9-21-10: Marco Antonio Gonazalez, a missing 15 year-old Georgia teen returned home three days after two men allegedly stole his family's car with him inside. Gonzalez drove himself home in the missing car. Gonzalez is in good health. He is being questioned by the Smyrna police. Police are still looking for possible suspects. The family's Mercedez-Benz is being analyzed for possible finger prints.

Update 12-22-11: A second man, Theodore Szal, believed to have been a victim of John Wayne Gacy has turned up alive more than thirty years after he disappeared. Szal went missing in Chicago, Illinois, in 1977. In actuality, he had run away from home after his bitter divorce and left his car abandoned at the city's O'Hare International Airport. LINK.

Update 3-15-12: A Texas infant who vanished eight years ago has been found alive and well. Police have arrested his former baby sitter, Krystle Rochelle Tanner, 26, who is accused of kidnapping him. The boy's mother, Auboni Champion-Morin is ecstatic.
Tanner had been the 8 month-old child's godmother when he disappeared in 2004. The case went cold in 2006. CPS recently investigated Tanner and the mystery has apparently been solved.

Update 2-28-13: KEYT news anchor Paula Lopez, recently reported missing, has returned home. Family The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office confirmed that Lopez is safe at home. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue had been seaching for the newswoman.  Paula Lopez had disappeared around 10 a.m. Wednesday near her home on Cathedral Oaks.

Update 4-8-13:  Raven Cassidy Furlong, 18, an Aurora, Colorado woman who has been missing since February has been found.  She is unharmed and living in Venice, California.  According to KKTV, Raven was located during a casting call for “American Ninja Warrior.” Raven cooperated fully with the the LAPD's Pacific Division.  She is of age, in good health,  and capable of living on her own. Case closed.

Update 9-11-13: Rajwinder Kaur, a young woman disappeared and a text message was sent that the girl with this phone is dead.  Turns out Rajwinder was alive and well but apparently wanted to start a new life down in Texas. LINK