Without a Trace

Marvin Otoniel Avila Missing: 8–01–1998 Sometime between May 5–6, 2005, Diana Willmeth, 36, simply vanished. Family and friends knew immediately upon visiting Willmeth’s home that she had not left of her own will. They found her cell phone, cash, and her beloved pets were with no one to take care of them.

Suddenly, Gerda Willmeth, Diana’s mother, was left, like thousands of family and friends of missing adults, confused and wondering where to begin looking for her daughter.

“I felt so helpless,” Gerda said. “What did I really have?” Information was the key to finding Diana, but Gerda was unsure of things like names of friends and doctors.

Toby Jermele Bing Missing: 2–18-1999 The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department needed dental records, but Gerda and Diana’s friends had no idea who her dentist was. They had to use their powers of deduction to make an educated guess. “A friend knew what insurance company Diana used to have,” Gerda said. “I also knew she never liked to go out of her way for a doctor’s appointment. So we only contacted the dentists who were on the route between her work and home.”

They were fortunate to locate Diana’s dentist. But other obstacles hampered their search.

Eugene Caston Missing: 2–20–2000 Once she knew Diana was missing, Gerda immediately began passing out flyers and contacting local media to get the word out to the community. However, it wasn’t until five weeks after her disappearance that Diana even made the headlines of the daily newspaper.

Gerda felt her greatest fight was convincing people the threat against her daughter was genuine. “So many adults just walk off and don’t tell their families,” she said. “Then they are reported missing but turn up fine, so people just assume a missing adult has left on their own.”

This is the largest misconception according to Erin Bruno, lead case manager for the National Center for Missing Adults. “People don’t often picture adults as victims,” Bruno said. “That is because adults are independent. They have the ability to walk away if they choose and have rights to privacy.”

Michael Dale Cloer Missing: 5–23–2004 However, that is not always the case.

Missing adults can be victims of foul play or accidents. Their plights are often diminished by people like Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride who has made national headlines recently for tricking a whole town into thinking she was abducted. People like Wilbanks significantly decrease the credibility of missing adult reports.

Tina Marie Crouch Missing: 4–03–1991 There has been a debate in the national media over the past couple of months concerning the types of missing persons stories the media chooses to cover. Some journalists argue that young, white, attractive females garner all the national attention, leaving out a huge segment of missing adults in the US.

Statistics from the National Crime Information Center report that the number of missing men and women in the US are nearly equal. Missing male cases numbered 22,379 as of June 1, 2005 and women 25,447. Also, a significant portion of those missing are African American, something rarely reflected in national media coverage.

Dail Boxley Dinwiddie Missing: 9–24-1992 Bruno attributes this to the penchant of media towards sensational stories.

“Media often look for twists and turns in a case, much like that of Natalee Holloway,” she said. “Something where they can report new findings every day, blood splatters on the wall and cars left abandoned with the keys still in the ignition.”

In most missing adults cases, however, the circumstances are more tame. A person may simply not show up for work or an important appointment. There may be no sensational details to report.

Mary Alice Dixon Missing: 3–21–2002 In Bruno’s experience, gender and ethnicity, as well as lifestyle, play an important role in what the media chooses to cover. “They’ll say something similar to, ‘I’m looking to do a story – would like it to be about a woman, in her 20–30s, and she can’t have any kind of criminal background or past history of anything questionable.’ So anyone with an arrest record or any questionable behavior is excluded.”

Bruno’s organization, the National Center for Missing Adults, was created for the specific purpose of spreading the word about missing adults. It was formally established as a national clearinghouse for missing adults after the passage of Kristen’s Law by the US Congress in 2000. Photos and vital information on missing adults are posted on the website.

Brandy Renee Hanna Missing: 5–20–2005 Before the center profiles a missing adult, they verify the information with the investigating law enforcement agency and offer their assistance in the investigation.

In Diana Willmeth’s case, the investigating law enforcement agency was the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Lexington County guidelines for missing persons reports state that prompt action should be taken when a missing persons report is made.

William Hart Missing: 10–6–1999 Missing children and vulnerable adults (elderly or mentally disabled) take top priority, but effort is made to follow up every report. “After receiving a missing persons report, detectives assess information and evidence that has been gathered concerning the disappearance,” said Major John Allard, public information officer for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

In Diana’s case, it was determined that she was probably a victim of foul play because it appeared that she did not leave her home voluntarily. According to Allard Diana’s case is the exception. “In most cases, we find that persons who have been reported missing are quickly located and found to be safe and secure,” he said. “We find that most missing persons have voluntarily left home and had a specific reason for leaving home.”

Sharon Lynn Hart–Wills Missing: 7–10-1987 It is for this reason that most TV stations have strict policies for airing missing persons stories. “The only time we run a missing person is if the authorities ask us to,” said Mike Garber, news director for WLTX–TV. “If anything should happen, the police can back us up.”

Crystal Carol Hicks Missing: 8–9–2001 The Lexington Sheriff’s Department has specific criteria for press releases about missing persons. “There are very few cases, generally several each year, in which our agency will contact the news media and seek help from citizens in finding a missing person,” Allard said. In an attempt to maintain credibility with the public, the sheriff’s department is very careful about the cases they release.

As far as assigning a reporter to a specific missing person story, the science is less exact. “We never hesitate to run a picture or release what authorities give us,” Garber said. “As far as coverage, we look to see if there is a criminal activity associated with the case or if the person is a missing child or elderly person.” In other words, they look for certain criteria to deem them intriguing stories.

Tamika Antonette Huston Missing: 5–24–2004 However, families and friends of missing adults should still be hopeful because there are resources available to them aside from conventional media. Organizations like the National Center for Missing Adults offer information and assistance. Many local businesses are also willing to post police–sanctioned missing persons flyers. Gerda Willmeth launched an extensive campaign to find her daughter by calling every media outlet she could find to remind them about Diana. She alos posted flyers wherever she was allowed.

Tragically, Diana’s case did not end in her safe return. Her body was found 2.4 miles from her home at 512 Forest Drive near Gaston. The investigation is ongoing.

Bruno, lead case manager for the National Center for Missing Adults, believes that a uniform national set of procedures for handling missing adults cases will make the process easier for friends and families like the Willmeths. “Literally, each and every individual law enforcement agency has their own policies and procedures on how to handle a missing adult case,” Bruno said. “This can be frustrating because while one location might be very proactive and take a report right away and enter the person into NCIC (National Crime Information Center) whereas another city might not take a report at all, stating that the missing person does not meet their criteria.”

The center is working on introducing some legislation that would create consistency in law enforcement regarding missing adults cases.

Diana’s mother, Gerda, has some advice for all families. “Communication is very important,” she said. “Tell your family who your friends are or if you plan on taking a break and going away.” She also recommends keeping a list of physicians and a current facial picture of family members in case they should go missing.

Gerda believes that people who run off without telling anyone damages the credibility of genuine missing adults’ cases and may be why cases of missing children and the elderly are taken more seriously. “It is very tragic when a child is missing or someone wanders off,” she said. “But Diana was my child too, wasn’t she worth the time?”

For tips on what to do in case an adult is missing see list at top right or visit www.theyaremissed.org. For assistance in a missing persons case, contact your local law officials.