Here at Underground Mysteries, formally NeedToID (2005), our goal is to create awareness for underrepresented / unreported missing person cases and unidentified person cases that have gotten little or no public recognition.
Believe it or not, many missing are never officially reported missing. Some cases are filed months or even years after a disappearance. Also, some cases that are filed with a police department may not be entered into Namus. These cases may “fall through the cracks”. There are also many cases that were filed several years ago, but the case files go “missing” themselves, due to changing servers, databases, crashed systems, physically lost files, files that never made it into a database, data entry error, and so forth. There are thousands of unreported missing people (or those with “lost” files) in the USA at any given time.Â
That is where Underground Mysteries comes into play. This site is not only designed to help authorities search “underground” / unreported missing person cases, but also to help locate missing people by using multiple measures:
a) helping actively search for your loved one by use of paper trails, recreating a timeline, and searching public records / background reports / etc;
b) doing a very detailed write-up (news publication) on your loved one’s disappearance by collecting information, which is updated often;
c) video or audio podcast or poster creation for your loved one’s case;
d) social awareness (story circulation), including interaction with family members, friends, possibly old colleagues, and so forth;
e) law enforcement liaison (to help get your case into the governmental systems and to help get a detective assigned to your case); and
f) helping you set up a private DNA test (if you are a blood relative to the missing person), so that your DNA can be entered into Gedmatch and other websites. This way, if your loved one happens to take a test or is an unidentified John/Jane Doe whose DNA was uploaded to be compared against DNA matches, your DNA may serve as a large clue in the location / identification process; and
g) building an extensive public family tree of the missing person, in case other genealogical companies are attempting to identify a John/Jane Doe.
I mainly take on cases in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
You may be wondering why there is a need for this service. You may even be wondering, “Why are there unreported missing people out there?”
1. – I have located hundreds of missing people. Many of these people were not found alive, as so many missing people are in fact unidentified and deceased, which is why I incorporate my forensic genealogy company alongside this company. Also, there are thousands of people in the USA alone who are either not reported missing or just do not have a case file… shocking to hear, right? That’s why I started this company. The hope is to always find the missing person alive. We cover both ends of the spectrum, though.
2.- I actively work on several cases at once. I follow each case with as much time and effort as I can. I don’t just write about them and move on. I update each case and continue networking to bring tips to law enforcement and keep working on their DNA (if applicable).
3.- There are many unreported missing people. There are many reasons a missing person may not be reported as missing. Some of them are not reported because their loved ones may have presumed they ran away, started anew, or was ignoring them. One example of this is the case of Tawni Mazzone; she was ‘reported’ missing, but there was no official report done by the police. Another example is the case of Lyle Stevik — a once-unidentified man whose family did not report him missing. A man dubbed “Mostly Harmless” passed away while hiking, and his family never reported him missing because they presumed he was ignoring them for years.
Another reason why some missing people are not officially reported missing is because the loved ones were uncertain of what steps to take to initiate the process. Or, the missing person’s loved ones may have in fact filed a report, but the report was lost during governmental system purges, or the case “fell through the cracks”.
Other cases are not reported because the family feared retaliation (and this one is a unique, tricky situation).
There are also cases in which the missing person does not have any living relatives, or he/she is estranged from his/her relatives and/or friends. This can also lead to them not being reported as missing.
Many missing person cases from the 1960s through the 1990s did not receive the recognition or attention they deserved, and many of their cases may have been removed from internal reporting databases.
There are also many missing person cases that have not yet been entered into Namus, CODIS, or any governmental-searchable system who are actually unidentified and deceased.
Many older cases that have been widely recognized in the past are now getting new light, thanks to social media and other modern technologies.
I typically only assist with cases in which there is little or no information found anywhere on the Internet or in governmental systems. You may research one of the cases I have presented and noticed there is now a heap of info found on the web. The stories I share will gradually make a large web presence after I research and circulate them. I do attempt to get some cases into Namus and listed on other websites. Law enforcement officers may search the internet when they cannot find a missing person match to their unidentified John/Jane Doe case.
My website uses extensive tagging measures. Why is this helpful? Law enforcement officers who are trying to identify a John/Jane Doe are aware of the astronomical amount of people who were either never reported missing or have no active report or any information found on the web. That is where I come into play. They can search my website by using tags to see if anything is fitting for their unidentified person case.
I am also a genealogist who works on cold case crimes through my company Doe Naming. The two companies go hand-in-hand, because not only do I assist with DNA analysis but many missing people are victims of brutal crime.
Finally, you may be wondering, how do I learn about missing person cases that have never been reported? I do massive networking. I place many paid advertisements that go to Canada, the USA, and Mexico. They reach thousands of people. The people who need assistance contact me. I also designed and maintain a missing person open-user database, where anyone can report their loved one missing. In some cases, I get a tip from someone, or I find information through doing precise searches in public and private forums and websites (as well as social media). Sometimes I will come across a one-liner posted to the web. (Example: “Hi, I’m looking for my sister who vanished in 1985.”) I reach out to the creator of the post. If for whatever reason I never hear back from this person who posted a vague description, I may write and credit their post to my page (if I can gain enough information), in hopes it can now be publicly searchable and easily searchable by using precise tagging. In some cases, I do hear back from them, and they may alert me that their loved one has been missing for years without a police report. I always urge them to immediately file a report, no matter how many years have passed.
In summary, this site will provide you with information on many unreported, undocumented cases that may not be found in the Namus system or produce many results in search engines (until I research, write about, and publish the cases). Because my goal is to get each case publicity and into Namus, by the time you may come across a story I shared in the past, it may now be in Namus or have a large web presence. My goal is to take socially stale (or socially non-existent) cases and give them a new light.
As far as taking on new cases, I mainly handle unreported cases that have little or no web presence. I also handle “underrepresented cases” sometimes, which are simply cases that have been reported and may have a Namus entry, but have very little information found online.
Aside from the above endeavors, I also created and maintain a missing person map, where I tag locations of unreported missing people. For New Jersey specifically, I have all cold cases (both reported and unreported) listed. I also run a podcast, create flyers, make and circulate videos, and do facial reconstructions.
If you need to reach Underground Mysteries, please visit https://undergroundmysteries.com/contact/
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Dominica
Thank you so much for creating this site and listing the obscure cases that have either not made it big in the media or that have never been reported. Because of this site, my cousin’s information is now online and public. I see it has now been picked up by NAMUS as well.
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Thank you so much for finding my missing brother.
I can’t repay you for finding my uncle although deceased we wish he’d have had more time with us no one knew
Please dont stop doing what your doing
Your work is fabulously underappreciated but is dynamic to keep the communities of the world is a healthy state. Knowing what happened to a loved one, a neighbor, a friend is so important. Thanks for all you do.
Awe, thank you so much!