Free Republic

BEIJING – A Chinese human rights lawyer missing for almost a year has been judged by legal authorities and "is where he should be," a Foreign Ministry official said in China's first public comment on the case. Gao Zhisheng, one of China's most daring lawyers, has drawn international attention for the unusual length of his disappearance and for his earlier reports of the torture he said he faced from security forces. In a memoir, he described severe beatings, electric shocks to his genitals and cigarettes held to his eyes. His brother said earlier this month that the Beijing police officer...

The parents of four students still missing in Haiti more than a week after the earthquake are urging the U.S. government to intervene. ................................................. 'The United States of America needs to get to the Hotel Montana and get our children - now!’ John Gianacaci, of New Jersey, whose daughter, Christine, is one of the missing students, said: 'This is the United States of America. They perform miracles all across the world ... Where's our miracle?' Seven search and rescue teams, including emergency workers from Miami-Dade county, have been desperately combing through the rubble since last Wednesday. Forrest Masters, who is...

CNN) -- The father of missing child Haleigh Cummings and his ex-wife have been arrested on drug-trafficking charges in Florida, authorities said. Ronald Cummings, 26, faces three counts of trafficking prescription medication -- including Oxycodone and Hydrocodone. He is being held in jail on $500,000 bond, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said. Misty Croslin, 18, faces six counts of trafficking prescription medication and is jailed on $950,000 bond. The former couple was arrested Wednesday along with three others after allegedly selling about $3,900 worth of drugs to undercover officers, sheriff's officials said. Cummings, Croslin and the others made brief court...

It has been almost three years since Bradley Olsen disappeared. And despite the length of time, his family does not give up hope. Project Jason's Angel Awareness Network has placed electronic posters along America's internet highway, as the anniversary of Mr. Olsens's disappearance comes closer.

Breaking News Alert: At least 5,500 Americans are missing and unaccounted for in Haiti, the U.S. State Department tells NBC News...

The mysterious disappearance of a beloved goat at a popular farm and children's petting zoo in the Berkeley hills is worrying naturalists who suspect a prankster but fear something more fiendish. The 16-year-old goat, affectionately named Honey, vanished overnight on Jan. 7 from the Tilden Little Farm on the north end of Tilden Park and no trace of her has been found since. The friendly, engaging goat, known among breeders as an Oberhasli or "Swiss Alpine," could not have jumped over the 5-foot-high fence herself, so she must have been carried out, said David Zuckerman, the supervising naturalist for Tilden...

Johnstown, PA (GlossyNews) – Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers “duct taped inside several fast food restaurant dumpsters,”

Hailie Sanders, the missing teen from Ashtabula, Ohio,missing since January 5, 2010 has been found safe.

Haiti Earthquake: Missing Lynn University Student and Two Professors [Pics in URL] Florida College Hired Private Search Team to Find Its Missing Students By EMILY FRIEDMAN Jan. 14, 2010 One student and two professors from a Florida university mission group are missing in the chaos and rubble of Haiti's earthquake, despite the efforts of a private search team hired by the school to find its missing staff and students. L-R: Christine Gianacaci, Richard Bruno, Patrick Hartwick (trentonian.com/Lynn University) The private contractor was commissioned by Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. So far, the contractor has located 11 members of the...

The Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown, NJ is praying for 15 missing members who are in Haiti. The missionaries went to Haiti to deliver medical supplies to Grace’s Children Hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Name: Hailie Sanders Date of Birth: 07/07/1992 Date Missing: 01/05/2010

As family and friends of missing West Valley City mother Susan Powell marked a somber milestone Wednesday, her husband, Joshua Powell, returned to Utah for the first time in weeks. Joshua Powell since Christmas has been in his hometown of Puyallup, Wash., where his and Susan Powell's families live. He was expected to arrive in Utah on Wednesday to pack his belongings for a return to Washington, friends and a spokeswoman for Susan Powell's parents said. Friends previously told The Tribune that Powell was fired from his job and has no income in the state. A spokeswoman for Chuck and...

LAKELAND, Fla. — In 2006, Abraham Shakespeare — a truck driver's assistant who lived with his mother — won $30 million in the Florida lottery. His good fortune may have cost him his life. Shakespeare vanished months ago. His mother hopes he is somewhere in the Caribbean, lying on a beach and enjoying the good life away from all the hangers-on who were constantly hitting him up for money.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida -- Authorities in northeast Florida say they have closed the 24-year-old case of a missing seventh-grader, but the girl's mother says she doesn't believe it. Martha Jean Lambert vanished near her St. Augustine home on Nov. 27, 1985. Her mother, Margaret Pichon, says she remains convinced the 12-year-old girl was kidnapped. However, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Pichon's son David Lambert has confessed to accidentally killing his sister in an argument. Sgt. Chuck Mulligan said Lambert told police he panicked and buried the girl in a shallow grave. Lambert was 15 at the...

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Authorities in northeast Florida say they've closed the 24-year-old case of a missing seventh-grader, but the girl's mother says she doesn't believe it. Martha Jean Lambert vanished near her St. Augustine home on Nov. 27, 1985. Her mother, Margaret Pichon, says she remains convinced that the 12-year-old girl was kidnapped. However, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Pichon's son David Lambert has confessed to accidentally killing his sister in an argument. Sgt. Chuck Mulligan said Lambert told police that he panicked and buried the girl in a shallow grave. Lambert was 15 at...

A Rutland Family Court judge has refused to delay an order that transfers custody of a child from a Virginia mother to her former lesbian partner in Fair Haven. But with the whereabouts of Lisa Miller and 7-year-old Isabella Miller presently "unknown," it remains to be seen whether the first of its kind parent custody switch takes place when the court order takes effect on New Year's Day. Miller, who renounced homosexuality, and her former partner Janet Jenkins have been battling over visitation rights since they ended their civil union in Vermont in 2003. After the pair split, Miller returned...

PHOENIX — A 5-year-old girl abducted by a man as she played outside her Phoenix home Friday was rescued hours later after police chased down the suspect's pickup and found her "alive and well" inside, officials said. Natalie Flores was located around 9 p.m. after a patrol officer spotted the truck of the man accused of kidnapping her, Sgt. Andy Hill said. "We have had our Christmas miracle," Hill said. "She is alive and well."

PHOENIX – Phoenix police have rescued a 5-year-old girl who was reportedly abducted on Christmas Day. Sergeant Andy Hill with the Phoenix Police Department said 5-year-old Natalie Rose Flores and her two sisters, aged 7 and 9, were playing by a tree in a common area of an apartment complex near 19th Avenue and Cactus around 2:15 p.m. The girls are staying with an aunt, who reportedly has legal custody of the children, and her boyfriend, in an apartment in the complex. The parents live separately out of state. Hill said the male suspect parked his truck in the parking...

SALISBURY — - More than 3,000 volunteers gathered on Christmas Day to take part in the ongoing search for an 11-year-old girl who police say was kidnapped from her bedroom by a registered sex offender. The voluneers gathered around 7 a.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to register for the search. The night before, more than 200 people scoured frozen fields and ponds the night before without success. Sarah Haley Foxwell was wearing a pink shirt and red pajamas printed with Christmas trees when she disappeared from her maternal aunt's home Tuesday night, police said. A younger sister awoke during...

The body of a Maryland girl who authorities say was abducted by a registered sex offender was found Friday after thousands of volunteers fanned out to look for her. Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said that the body of 11-year-old Sarah H. Foxwell was discovered at about 4 p.m. near the Delaware state line. He offered few other details. Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, has been charged in her kidnapping. Leggs is a former boyfriend of the girl's aunt, who is her legal guardian. A public defender representing him has not returned a phone call. Thousands of volunteers gathered in...