Missing
Michele Mae Julson
Julson, approximately 1994; Julson's Ford Thunderbird
Date and time person was reported missing : 08/02/1994
Missing location (approx) :
Bismarck, North Dakota
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 03/18/1968 (53)
Age at the time of disappearance: 26 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6, 155 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A dark-colored shirt and blue jeans.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Julson had a Norplant birth control device inserted into her body at the time of her disappearance. She has a small tattoo on her left shoulder of a heart with a drop of blood. Her nickname is Shelly and some accounts spell her first name "Michelle." She may dye her hair blonde or auburn.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Julson was last seen when she dropped her young son off at the child's grandfather's residence in Bismarck, North Dakota at 12:30 p.m. August 2, 1994. She stated she was going to run errands, pick up her paycheck from the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation where she was a blackjack dealer, and possibly play bingo. She promised to return in a few hours.
Julson never picked up her paycheck and never returned home. She was reportedly seen by a friend at WeFest, an outdoor country music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, on August 5; she was allegedly in the company of a man named "Tom" who drove a black four-by-four Chevrolet.
Police closed her missing persons file as a result of the sighting, but then reopened it after she did not get in touch with her family. Now investigators do not believe she was ever at WeFest.
Her light blue 1987 Ford Thunderbird with the North Dakota license plate number DAH 159 was found at a Bismark Comfort Inn six days after her disappearance; a photo of the vehicle is posted with this case summary.
Authorities cannot be certain, but they do not believe it was there on August 2. It was turned over to her family without being processed. The inside appeared to be clean, except for a half-eaten sandwich left on the front seat. Julson's father later told police he found some scoria rock near the vehicle's intake manifold. There is little, if any, scoria rock in the Bismarck area.
Julson resided in the 700 block of west Sweet Avenue in Bismark at the time she went missing. She is described as a dedicated mother who was close to her family and would not have abandoned them. She had no plans to leave the Bismarck area and investigators do not believe she left of her own free will. Foul play is suspected in her case.
Other information and links : ncy
Bismarck Police Department
701-223-1212
September 2021 updates and sources
The Doe Network
The Bismarck Tribune
North Dakota Attorney General's Office
The Grand Forks Herald
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.
KX News
6 October 12, 2004. August 3, 2014; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
