missing persons

Alexa Lawson, 11, and Brithany Yanchapanta, 15, were reported missing Thursday

Paterson, NJ police detained Felix DeJesus Feb. 2. Witnesses say he was at a park afterward. No one knows what happened next.

"As the parent of an autistic child, one of the scariest thing you can do is intrust the safety of your child to the city of New York. We do this every day, and we hope for the best."

Nicholas Figueroa, 23, remains unaccounted for.

He had been missing since Tuesday.

The officer has suffered a number of financial setbacks over the years, having declared bankruptcy in 2005.

Over 100,000 people are actively missing nationwide, and last year 13,000 went missing from New York City alone.

The search for a Columbia University dental school student, who has been missing since last Tuesday, continues this week.

29-year-old Columbia dental school student, Jiwon Lee, left her apartment on the Upper West Side on Tuesday night and hasn't been heard from again.

The news paints a harrowing portrait of innocent, bureaucratic missteps and lack of communication, all of which resulted in the heartbreaking death of Vanessa Fontaine's 14-year-old son.