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How you can help bring answers

Every one of these families is still waiting. You don't need to be an expert to help. Most breakthroughs come from someone who knew something and finally said it, or from a careful researcher who found a forgotten record.

Share what you know

If you have information about any case on this site, contact investigators directly, even if it seems small or you think they must already know it.

A useful tip says how you know what you know. Did you see it, or did someone tell you? Include names, dates, places, vehicles and anything you still have, such as photos, letters or old phone numbers. Mention the case by name and year.

If you think you've seen a missing person

Don't approach, follow or photograph them. Call the Sheriff's Department with where and when you saw them and a description. If someone may be in danger right now, call 911.

Some missing adults left by choice and are entitled to their privacy. If you are one of the people listed here, you can contact investigators simply to confirm you're safe. Agencies can close a case without revealing your whereabouts.

Ground rules for sleuths

Amateur researchers have helped solve real cases. They have also harassed grieving families, wrecked innocent people's lives and contaminated investigations. Please:

  • Don't contact families, witnesses or anyone named in a case. If you think someone should be interviewed, tell investigators why.
  • Don't accuse. Never publicly suggest that a private person is responsible. “Person of interest” is not “suspect,” and neither is “guilty.”
  • Don't publish home addresses, phone numbers or other private details of living people.
  • Don't trespass on private land or disturb a scene. Many sites in these cases are now homes, parks or protected wilderness.
  • Take findings to investigators first, before posting them online. Publicity can tip off the very person a lead points to.
  • Check AI answers and forum claims. Repeated rumors are not evidence. Go back to the original record.

Research toolkit

Every case page ends with case-specific leads. These are the general tools behind them. Most are free; some need a library card.

Old newspapers

Missing & unidentified people

  • NamUs — Federal database. Search missing persons and unidentified remains; compare descriptions, tattoos and dental notes.
  • California DOJ Missing Persons — State listings with case numbers, descriptions and dates.
  • The Doe Network — Volunteer database; useful cross-reference.
  • The Charley Project — Volunteer case summaries; check against official records.

Public records

Historical maps & photos

  • USGS TopoView — Historic topographic maps. Check the edition date: later revisions add roads that did not exist earlier.
  • UCSB FrameFinder — Historic aerial photographs of Southern California.

Official case information

What good research looks like

  1. Start with the official account, then find the earliest newspaper reports. Early reports often hold details later summaries dropped.
  2. Search every name variant: maiden names, nicknames, aliases, misspellings and initials. Old newspaper text recognition often misreads names.
  3. Note exactly where each fact came from: paper, date, page. Treat copies of one wire story as one source, not several.
  4. Look for the differences between accounts, such as a date one day off or a different street. Those gaps are where new questions start.
  5. Write down what you couldn't find as well as what you did. Knowing a record doesn't exist saves the next person time.