10 Missing Person Cases Solved This Century (So Far)
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Jessie Marshall
This century has seen the resolution of several prominent missing person cases. Let's find out which. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at the heart-wrenching disappearances we feared would never be resolved. Our countdown of missing person cases solved this century includes Etan Patz, Elisabeth Fritzl, Jaycee Dugard, and more.
10 Missing Persons Cases Solved This Century So Far
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the heart-wrenching disappearances we feared would never be resolved.
Etan Patz
[a]
On his first solo trip to the bus stop, Etan Patz vanished. His teacher noted his absence from school but did not notify the principal. When he failed to return home later that day, his mother alerted authorities, and a massive search effort ensued. However, there was no trace of Patz. His disappearance helped spur the creation of the Missing Children Movement. Patz’s face was one of the first to appear on the “missing children milk cartons” of the 1980s. Decades later, in 2012, a man named Pedro Hernandez confessed to killing Patz. Hernandez, who worked at a bodega near the bus stop at the time of Patz’s disappearance, was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison.
Mike Williams
When Mike Williams went missing during a hunting trip in 2000, investigators determined he likely drowned as the result of an unfortunate accident. His abandoned boat was found floating in Lake Seminole[b], but after an extensive search, his body was not recovered. Unsatisfied with the conclusion, his mother pushed for a new investigation. Officials reopened the case in 2004. Suspicion soon settled on Williams’s widow, Denise, and her new husband, Brian Winchester. Shortly before the ill-fated hunting trip, Winchester had helped Denise take out a life insurance policy on Williams. In 2017, Winchester, who was already serving time on kidnapping charges, revealed the location of Williams’s body. In 2019, Denise was convicted for her role in Williams’s murder. Winchester received immunity for aiding investigators.
Sandra Young[c]
In the late 1960s, Sandra Young went missing from Portland, Oregon. She was never seen alive again. A short distance away on Sauvie Island, a Boy Scout troop leader made a horrifying discovery — a body buried in a shallow grave. For 54 long years, Young’s family had no idea what happened to her. Meanwhile, the body found on Sauvie Island remained unidentified. Thanks to genetic genealogy, the connection between the two cases was finally established. DNA testing confirmed that the unknown murder victim was Sandra Young. While Young has finally been located, little else is known about her disappearance or her tragic death.
Elisabeth Fritzl[d]
For 24 years, Josef Fritzl held his daughter Elisabeth captive in the basement of this home in Amstetten, Austria. During her imprisonment, Elisabeth gave birth to seven children — all fathered by Josef. When one of the older daughters fell deathly ill in 2008, Fritzl agreed to take her to the local hospital. Eventually, Fritzl permitted Elisabeth to visit her ailing daughter. It was her first time seeing the outside world since 1984. The story Fritzl provided didn't sit well with hospital staff, who ultimately contacted the police. He later confessed to luring his daughter to the basement and imprisoning her there. To conceal the crime, Fritzl declared Elisabeth a runaway and forced her to write letters claiming she did not want to be found.
Zebb Quinn[e]
In January 2000, after finishing work, Zebb Quinn went to see a vehicle with his coworker, Robert Jason Owens. They drove separately. According to Owens, Quinn received a page, abruptly sped away, and disappeared. His car was found several days later in a restaurant parking lot. The headlights were on, and a puppy was in the backseat. Someone had drawn a kiss and an exclamation point on the back window in pink lipstick. There was no sign of Quinn. A breakthrough came in 2017 when officials charged Owens with Quinn’s murder. The exact circumstances are unknown, but a love triangle may be at the heart of the case. At the time of his conviction, Owens was already serving life for killing Cristie and Joseph Codd.
Brittanee Drexel[f]
On the evening of April 25, 2009, Brittanee Drexel went missing from the busy main strip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was never seen again. A few days prior, without her mother’s knowledge or consent, Drexel had traveled from her home in Chili, New York, to visit the popular vacation destination for spring break with some friends. Security footage showed Drexel arriving at the Blue Water Resort around 8 p.m. to visit a friend and then departing a short time later. Brittanee seemingly vanished into thin air somewhere between the Blue Water Resort and her hotel. Thirteen years later, in 2022, Raymond Moody, a convicted sex offender, confessed to kidnapping and killing Drexel. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The Lyon Sisters[g]
When Katherine and Sheila Lyon disappeared on their way home from a Wheaton, Maryland, shopping center, their fate remained a mystery for over 35 years. On the day they vanished, the sisters went for lunch at a popular pizza joint located in the shopping center. Eyewitnesses saw them talking with a man outside the restaurant before they went inside. They were later spotted making their way home after their meal, but they never arrived. By 2013, the case had grown cold, but authorities hoped to breathe new life into the investigation. News of a significant development broke in 2015 when convicted sex offender Lloyd Lee Welch, Jr. was indicted for the murder of the Lyon sisters. He later pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.
Baby Holly
When Dean and Tina Clouse[h] relocated with their daughter Holly to Texas in 1980, they hoped for a fresh new start. A few months later, they were gone. Their whereabouts remained unknown until 2021. Advances in DNA technology helped match Dean and Tina to two unidentified murder victims found in 1981 just outside of Houston. With the couple's fate solved, one big question remained: What happened to baby Holly? After further investigation, authorities found her alive and well in Oklahoma. She was raised by a pastor and his wife after three women — one of which was likely Tina Clouse — mysteriously left Holly in their care. The Clouses may have joined a cult called Christ Family before they were killed, which compelled them to give Holly away.
Jaycee Dugard
It was broad daylight when Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped on her way to the bus stop. She wasn’t seen again for 18 years. Her family continued efforts to find her, but hope for a positive outcome grew smaller every year. Her rescue came when her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, visited UC Berkeley with two pale and sullen girls to request permission to hold an event. His behavior and the state of the girls aroused suspicion. It was later discovered he was a registered sex offender in violation of parole. More unsettling details emerged when Garrido was forced to report to the parole office. Dugard had been imprisoned in appalling conditions in Garrido's backyard, and the two girls with him at UC Berkeley had been Dugard’s daughters.
Elizabeth Smart
In the dark of night, Elizabeth Smart was roused from sleep by a knife-wielding intruder. Her sister, Mary Katherine, who shared a room with Smart, lay frozen in fear and pretended to be asleep. Brian David Mitchell held Smart captive for nine months. During that time, Smart went on several public outings with Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee[i]. They forced Smart to wear a veil and headscarf to hide her identity. Mary Katherine eventually recognized the kidnapper’s voice as that of a man who once did some work on the family’s house. A sketch of the man was featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” and some of Mitchell’s family members recognized him. Mitchell and Barzee were soon apprehended, and Smart was reunited with her family.
Which one of these chilling cases affected you the most? Let us know in the comments!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the heart-wrenching disappearances we feared would never be resolved.
Etan Patz
[a]
On his first solo trip to the bus stop, Etan Patz vanished. His teacher noted his absence from school but did not notify the principal. When he failed to return home later that day, his mother alerted authorities, and a massive search effort ensued. However, there was no trace of Patz. His disappearance helped spur the creation of the Missing Children Movement. Patz’s face was one of the first to appear on the “missing children milk cartons” of the 1980s. Decades later, in 2012, a man named Pedro Hernandez confessed to killing Patz. Hernandez, who worked at a bodega near the bus stop at the time of Patz’s disappearance, was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison.
Mike Williams
When Mike Williams went missing during a hunting trip in 2000, investigators determined he likely drowned as the result of an unfortunate accident. His abandoned boat was found floating in Lake Seminole[b], but after an extensive search, his body was not recovered. Unsatisfied with the conclusion, his mother pushed for a new investigation. Officials reopened the case in 2004. Suspicion soon settled on Williams’s widow, Denise, and her new husband, Brian Winchester. Shortly before the ill-fated hunting trip, Winchester had helped Denise take out a life insurance policy on Williams. In 2017, Winchester, who was already serving time on kidnapping charges, revealed the location of Williams’s body. In 2019, Denise was convicted for her role in Williams’s murder. Winchester received immunity for aiding investigators.
Sandra Young[c]
In the late 1960s, Sandra Young went missing from Portland, Oregon. She was never seen alive again. A short distance away on Sauvie Island, a Boy Scout troop leader made a horrifying discovery — a body buried in a shallow grave. For 54 long years, Young’s family had no idea what happened to her. Meanwhile, the body found on Sauvie Island remained unidentified. Thanks to genetic genealogy, the connection between the two cases was finally established. DNA testing confirmed that the unknown murder victim was Sandra Young. While Young has finally been located, little else is known about her disappearance or her tragic death.
Elisabeth Fritzl[d]
For 24 years, Josef Fritzl held his daughter Elisabeth captive in the basement of this home in Amstetten, Austria. During her imprisonment, Elisabeth gave birth to seven children — all fathered by Josef. When one of the older daughters fell deathly ill in 2008, Fritzl agreed to take her to the local hospital. Eventually, Fritzl permitted Elisabeth to visit her ailing daughter. It was her first time seeing the outside world since 1984. The story Fritzl provided didn't sit well with hospital staff, who ultimately contacted the police. He later confessed to luring his daughter to the basement and imprisoning her there. To conceal the crime, Fritzl declared Elisabeth a runaway and forced her to write letters claiming she did not want to be found.
Zebb Quinn[e]
In January 2000, after finishing work, Zebb Quinn went to see a vehicle with his coworker, Robert Jason Owens. They drove separately. According to Owens, Quinn received a page, abruptly sped away, and disappeared. His car was found several days later in a restaurant parking lot. The headlights were on, and a puppy was in the backseat. Someone had drawn a kiss and an exclamation point on the back window in pink lipstick. There was no sign of Quinn. A breakthrough came in 2017 when officials charged Owens with Quinn’s murder. The exact circumstances are unknown, but a love triangle may be at the heart of the case. At the time of his conviction, Owens was already serving life for killing Cristie and Joseph Codd.
Brittanee Drexel[f]
On the evening of April 25, 2009, Brittanee Drexel went missing from the busy main strip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was never seen again. A few days prior, without her mother’s knowledge or consent, Drexel had traveled from her home in Chili, New York, to visit the popular vacation destination for spring break with some friends. Security footage showed Drexel arriving at the Blue Water Resort around 8 p.m. to visit a friend and then departing a short time later. Brittanee seemingly vanished into thin air somewhere between the Blue Water Resort and her hotel. Thirteen years later, in 2022, Raymond Moody, a convicted sex offender, confessed to kidnapping and killing Drexel. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The Lyon Sisters[g]
When Katherine and Sheila Lyon disappeared on their way home from a Wheaton, Maryland, shopping center, their fate remained a mystery for over 35 years. On the day they vanished, the sisters went for lunch at a popular pizza joint located in the shopping center. Eyewitnesses saw them talking with a man outside the restaurant before they went inside. They were later spotted making their way home after their meal, but they never arrived. By 2013, the case had grown cold, but authorities hoped to breathe new life into the investigation. News of a significant development broke in 2015 when convicted sex offender Lloyd Lee Welch, Jr. was indicted for the murder of the Lyon sisters. He later pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.
Baby Holly
When Dean and Tina Clouse[h] relocated with their daughter Holly to Texas in 1980, they hoped for a fresh new start. A few months later, they were gone. Their whereabouts remained unknown until 2021. Advances in DNA technology helped match Dean and Tina to two unidentified murder victims found in 1981 just outside of Houston. With the couple's fate solved, one big question remained: What happened to baby Holly? After further investigation, authorities found her alive and well in Oklahoma. She was raised by a pastor and his wife after three women — one of which was likely Tina Clouse — mysteriously left Holly in their care. The Clouses may have joined a cult called Christ Family before they were killed, which compelled them to give Holly away.
Jaycee Dugard
It was broad daylight when Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped on her way to the bus stop. She wasn’t seen again for 18 years. Her family continued efforts to find her, but hope for a positive outcome grew smaller every year. Her rescue came when her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, visited UC Berkeley with two pale and sullen girls to request permission to hold an event. His behavior and the state of the girls aroused suspicion. It was later discovered he was a registered sex offender in violation of parole. More unsettling details emerged when Garrido was forced to report to the parole office. Dugard had been imprisoned in appalling conditions in Garrido's backyard, and the two girls with him at UC Berkeley had been Dugard’s daughters.
Elizabeth Smart
In the dark of night, Elizabeth Smart was roused from sleep by a knife-wielding intruder. Her sister, Mary Katherine, who shared a room with Smart, lay frozen in fear and pretended to be asleep. Brian David Mitchell held Smart captive for nine months. During that time, Smart went on several public outings with Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee[i]. They forced Smart to wear a veil and headscarf to hide her identity. Mary Katherine eventually recognized the kidnapper’s voice as that of a man who once did some work on the family’s house. A sketch of the man was featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” and some of Mitchell’s family members recognized him. Mitchell and Barzee were soon apprehended, and Smart was reunited with her family.
Which one of these chilling cases affected you the most? Let us know in the comments!
