Missing white woman syndrome is a term used by social scientists and media commentators to denote disproportionate media coverage, especially on television, of missing-person cases toward white females compared to those males or females of color. The syndrome also encompasses disproportionate media attention to females who are young, attractive, white, and upper middle class. Although the term was coined in the context of missing-person cases, it is sometimes used of coverage of other violent crimes. The phenomenon has been highlighted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other predominantly white countries, as well as South Africa.
Susannah Jane Lamplugh was a British estate agent reported missing on 28 July 1986 in Fulham, London, England, United Kingdom. She was officially declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1993. The last clue to Lamplugh's whereabouts was an appointment to show a house in Shorrolds Road to someone she called Mr. Kipper. The case remains unsolved with Lamplugh still missing.
Emeka Ezeugo is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He debuted as a professional footballer for Indian club East Bengal FC, has also represented the Nigeria national team in the FIFA World Cup. He last managed Abia Warriors FC as a football coach.
Tara Lynn Grant was a married American woman, mother of two children from Macomb County, Michigan, and a successful consultant at Washington Group International. She became nationally known as the victim of murder by her husband, Stephen Grant, in February 2007.
Maura Murray is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill. Her whereabouts remain unknown. Murray was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the time of her disappearance.
Madeleine Beth McCann is a British missing person who, at the age of 3, disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. The Daily Telegraph described her disappearance as "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history". Madeleine's whereabouts remain unknown, although German prosecutors believe she is dead.
The murder of Phylicia Barnes is believed to have occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on December 28, 2010, in relation to a crime. Her body was recovered in the Susquehanna River on April 20, 2011, following a series of searches and national media coverage from various outlets, including The Today Show. The investigation into her death was ruled a homicide. About a year later, on April 25, 2012, her half-sister's ex-boyfriend, Michael Johnson, was arrested and charged with her murder. At the time, police declined to provide any details as to how the murder occurred, how they identified him as a suspect, or a motive in the case. Johnson was convicted on February 6, 2013, of second-degree murder. However, the conviction was overturned when the trial judge granted the defense's motion for a new trial. Upon commencement of the second trial, all charges against Johnson were dropped on January 20, 2015.
Brianna Alexandra Maitland is an American missing person who disappeared at the age of 17 after leaving her job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. Her car was discovered the following day, backed into the side of an abandoned house about a mile (1.6 km) away from her workplace. Maitland has not been seen or heard from since. Due to a confluence of circumstances, several days passed before Maitland's friends and family reported her missing.
The disappearance of Melissa Brannen occurred on December 3, 1989, at the Woodside Apartments in Lorton, Virginia. The five-year-old daughter of Michael and Tammy Brannen, she was raised by her single mother who lived in the complex. She disappeared while attending a party held at the complex for its residents. Caleb Daniel Hughes, a handyman for the complex, was convicted of abduction with the intent to defile and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Her body has never been found, she has never been proven to be dead, and murder charges have never been filed. The case is considered an unsolved homicide by local police.
Lauren Elizabeth Spierer is an American woman who disappeared on June 3, 2011, following an evening at Kilroy's Sports Bar in Bloomington, Indiana. At the time, Spierer was a 20-year-old student at Indiana University. Though her disappearance generated national press coverage, Spierer is presumed dead and her case remains unsolved.
Tamara Mitrofanovna Samsonova, known as Granny Ripper and Baba Yaga, is a Russian serial killer who was arrested in July 2015 on suspicion of committing two murders with extreme cruelty. She supposedly has schizophrenia and was previously hospitalized three times in psychiatric hospitals.
Tiffany Louise Sessions is a missing woman from Tampa, Florida, who was last seen on February 9, 1989. Her family nickname was "Tiffy". She was attending the University of Florida in Gainesville and was majoring in business.
Kyriakos Amiridis was a Greek career diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Greece to Libya and Brazil. He was reported missing on 28 December 2016 while serving as ambassador to Brazil and his body was found near Rio de Janeiro the next day.
Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, simply known by his sobriquet Reverend King, is a Christian preacher from Anambra State, South-east Nigeria. In 2006, he rose to nationwide recognition following the murder of a church member, Ann Uzoh. He was subsequently sentenced to death in January 2007, and his conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 26 February 2016.
The Lewis–Clark Valley murders refer to a cluster of unsolved murders and disappearances that occurred in the Lewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area of northern Idaho between 1979 and 1982. Law enforcement investigators have identified four victims and possibly a fifth that are connected to a single suspect.
The killing of Aniah Blanchard occurred in October 2019. Blanchard, the 19-year-old stepdaughter of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Walt Harris, was reported missing on October 24. She had last been seen at a Chevron gas station in Auburn, Alabama, the previous night. A witness from the gas station claims to have seen Blanchard's kidnapping. Blanchard's body was found in Macon County, Alabama, one month after her disappearance. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound. A suspect, identified as Ibraheem Yazeed, was arrested and charged with Blanchard's murder. As of January 2021, Yazeed was being held in Lee County Jail without bond and his preliminary hearing was delayed due to COVID-19 lockdown. On November 15, 2022 he was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of capital murder, and on March 6, 2023 pleaded not guilty to all three counts. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Maya "May" Millete is a Filipino American woman who disappeared on January 7, 2021, in Chula Vista, California. A police investigation into her disappearance is ongoing.
Mohammed Idris Alkali (1960–2018), also known as Nuri, was a Nigerian retired Major general who was declared missing on 3 September 2018 and found dead on 31 October 2018. During his military career, he served as the Chief of Administration, Army Headquarters, Abuja.
