Women and girls go missing every day.
As of the end of 2018, the FBI had about 85,000 active missing persons records, according to the agency’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC). On average, over 600,000 people are typically reported missing in a year, about half of them women and girls.
But while every missing person deserves attention, the media gives certain cases of missing women and girls disproportionate coverage, particularly those of white women and people from more privileged backgrounds. A 2016 Northwestern University School of Law study found disparities in how the media covers missing white women and missing women of color.
You may have already heard about Jennifer Dulos, the Connecticut mother of five who went missing from her New Canaan house in May. Her husband and his girlfriend were arrested in connection with her disappearance and compared her case to Gone Girl (which the author of the book condemned). But it’s not likely that you’ve heard of the other women and girls we included in this story.
Ahead, we’ve highlighted the cases of women and girls who went missing in 2019 you may not have heard of.
We will continue to update this story.
Leidy Karina Guevara
Leidy Karina Guevara, 16, was last seen on July 8, 2019, in Southeast Washington, D.C. She’s described as 5’3” and around 164 pounds. If you have any information, you can contact the D.C. police at 202-576-6768 or 202-727-9099.
Photo: Courtesy of the DC Metropolitan Police.
Mildred Brown
Mildred Brown, 60, was last seen on July 7, 2019 in Detroit. Brown reportedly had a mental health condition, and her caregiver told Detroit police that she is concerned for the woman’s safety. She’s described as 5’11” and around 175 pounds. If you have any information, you can contact Detroit police at 313-596-1140 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.
Photo: Courtesy of the Detroit Police.
Melissa Estrella Vasquez-Gonzalez
Melissa Estrella Vasquez-Gonzalez, 14, was last seen in her New Holstein, WI-area home on July 7, 2019. She was reportedly in the passenger’s seat of a red car that drove away from the home. The Calumet County Sheriff’s Office has released a photo of two men with whom authorities say Melissa may be. She’s described as 5’2” and around 140 pounds. If you have any information, you can contact the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office at 920-849-2335.
Photo: Courtesy of the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office.
Jennifer Dulos
Jennifer Dulos, 50, went missing from her New Canaan, CT, home on May 24, 2019, after dropping off her five children at school. Fotis Dulos, her estranged husband, is the prime suspect in connection with her disappearance and maintains his innocence. In the two years since their separation, the two have engaged in a custody battle, according to NBC News. Jennifer Dulos has accused Fotis Dulos of "irrational, unsafe, bullying, threatening, and controlling behavior."
Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, who were both arrested for tampering with evidence in the case, together with their legal team, floated a "Gone Girl theory " in connection to her disappearance. In the Gillian Flynn novel and movie of the same name, a woman fakes her disappearance while the media focuses on her husband as the prime suspect. Flynn herself condemned the theory. "It absolutely sickens me that a work of fiction written by me would be used by Fotis Dulos’ lawyer as a defense, and as a hypothetical, sensationalized motive behind Jennifer’s very real and very tragic disappearance," she said in a statement.
If you have any information, you can contact the New Canaan, CT, police tip line at 203-594-3544 or email FindJenniferDulos@newcanaanct.gov.
Photo: Courtesy of Jennifer Dulos’ Facebook.
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