Missing
Debra Lynn Kidwell
Debra, approximately 1979
Date and time person was reported missing : 05/04/1979
Missing location (approx) :
Ventura, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 05/27/1952 (69)
Age at the time of disappearance: 26 years old
Height / Weight : 5'3, 120 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A peach-colored sweater, blue Levi's jeans and a gold wedding ring.
Medical conditions : Kidwell has an unspecified nervous condition.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Debra has a scar on her abdomen. She may use the alias last name Cronan.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Debra was last seen on May 4, 1979 in Ventura, California. She has never been heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she was accompanied by her three-year-old twin sons, Jackson and Joshua. The twins are missing along with their mother.
Debra and her sons were reported missing by her husband, John Needham Kidwell. He was considered a suspect at the time and it's unclear whether police ever cleared him. He died in 2008. Debra's family is still looking for her and the twins, however. Their cases remain unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Ventura County Sheriff's Department
805-654-2324
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Facebook pageheader for Debra, Jackson and Joshua Kidwell
October 12, 2004. May 26, 2019; picture added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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