Missing
Tamara Elizabeth Toy
Toy, approximately 2006; Glenn Bivens
Date and time person was reported missing : 05/06/2006
Missing location (approx) :
Bradenton, Florida
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 05/11/1961 (60)
Age at the time of disappearance: 44 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6, 140 - 150 pounds
Medical conditions : Toy is addicted to the prescription painkiller Percocet. She also has a history of cocaine abuse.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Toy's hair was dyed blonde at the time of her disappearance. She has surgical scars on her back from screw insertion, a tattoo of ivy on her lower back, and a Caesaraean section scar on her abdomen. Her ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Toy was last seen in Bradenton, Florida on May 6, 2006. Her family last spoke with her in March, when she called her adult son. Toy also sent two Easter cards to relatives.
The last confirmed sighting of her was when she paid her rent. She was living in the Budget Inn in the 8100 block of north Tamiami Trail with her boyfriend, Glenn Bivens, at the time. Both of them were unemployed. A photograph of Bivens is posted with this case summary.
Bivens was arrested on May 13 after almost running into a police officer's patrol car. Toy was not with him at the time and she has never been heard from again. Bivens had a previous criminal record and spent 15 years in prison in Arizona. On May 18, five days after his arrest, he took his own life by jumping from a second-floor balcony in jail.
Prior to his death, Bivens had allegedly told another jail inmate that Toy had died of a drug overdose and he had buried her body in eastern Manatee County. He did not provide any other details about what happened. This account has not been confirmed, but two dirty shovels, a ski mask, garbAge at the time of disappearance: bags and a bloodstained glove were found in the back of Bivens's van, and the backseat had been removed and put in their motel room.
Toy's loved ones believe an associate of Bivens, Stephen Cherok, may have information about her disappearance. Cherok, who also has a criminal record, was living with Toy and Bivens at the time of Toy's disappearance and he began to pay their rent the day after she disappeared. He denies knowing anything about the case.
Toy is originally from the eastern United States and has family in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Her relatives stated she formerly worked as a nurse and became addicted to prescription painkillers after she injured her back at work. She was previously married and has four children. Authorities are treating her disappearance as a missing person, but foul play is suspected in her case.
Other information and links : ncy
Manatee County Sheriff's Office
941-747-3011
September 2021 updates and sources
The CUE Center for Missing Persons
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Bradenton Herald
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
WTSP News
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.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
