Missing
Ricky Laverne Bethea
Bethea, approximately 2007
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/23/2007
Missing location (approx) :
Milton, North Carolina
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 02/26/1963 (58)
Age at the time of disappearance: 44 years old
Height / Weight : 6'2, 227 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A white t-shirt and blue jeans.
Medical conditions : Bethea suffers from schizophrenia and needs medication which he doesn't have with him. He also has a history of drug abuse.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Bethea wears wire-framed eyeglasses. He is balding and was clean-shaven at the time of his disappearance. He has a scar or mark on his left arm.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Bethea was last seen in rural Milton, North Carolina on July 23, 2007. He left Corbett's Family Care Home and walked into the woods with another resident that day. The other person returned, but Bethea has never been heard from again. He was last seen walking down Hudson Road toward N.C. 62 north at approximately 12:00 p.m. Tracker dogs were unable to pick up his scent anywhere.
Bethea had lived in Corbett's Family Care Home for only ten days before his disappearance. He had previously resided at the D & H Family Care Home for about six months, but was expelled after being caught smoking a cigarette in his room, in violation of the rules. He was unhappy about having to move to a new home and complained to his mother about his life before he disappeared.
Bethea's family does not believe he left of his own accord and they think he was injured, possibly accidentally, after his disappearance. He grew up in Laurinberg, North Carolina. His case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Caswell County Sheriff's Department
336-694-9311
Laurinburg Police Department
336-276-3211
September 2021 updates and sources
The Burlington Times-News
The Laurinburg Exchange
The Greensboro News and Record
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.
October 12, 2004. September 27, 2010; middle name and DOB : added, Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: updated.
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