This is a list of solved missing person cases in the 2020s.
2020 DatePerson(s)AgeCountry of disappearanceCircumstancesOutcomeTime spent missing or unconfirmed12 January 2020Keane Mulready-Woods17IrelandMulready-Woods was an Irish teenager from Drogheda, County Louth who disappeared on 12 January 2020. His dismembered remains were found in separate locations, including a burning car, over the course of several weeks beginning 13 January.Murdered1 day31 January 2020Mark Frerichs57AfghanistanFrerichs is an American civil engineer who was kidnapped by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network on 31 January 2020. His status remained unknown for two years until 1 April 2022, when a video released by the Taliban showed Frerichs pleading for help. On 19 September 2022, Frerichs was released by the Taliban-led government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in exchange for Bashir Noorzai.Found alive2 years 7 monthsFebruary 2020Megan Khung Yu Wai4SingaporeFour-year-old Megan Khung Yu Wai was reported missing by her maternal grandmother on 20 July 2020. The police managed to establish that the girl had died in February 2020 and her body was burned three months later in May 2020. Three suspects, consisting of the girl's birth mother, the mother's boyfriend and a friend of the couple, were charged with murder and disposal of Khung's corpse.Murdered5 months6 February 2020Chen Qiushi34ChinaQiushi, a lawyer and citizen journalist, was abducted by Chinese government officials on 6 February 2020, due to his coverage of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. In September 2020, a government agency reported that he was under strict surveillance at his parents' home.Found alive7 months23 February 2020Mazen al-Hamada47SyriaMazen al-Hamada, an activist from Deir ez-Zor, was a victim of enforced disappearance when he was kidnapped by Syrian security officials on 23 February 2020. His body was found in Sednaya Prison on 9 December 2024. He is believed to have been executed seven days before his body was discovered. Murdered4 years and 10 months26 February 2020Li Zehua24–25ChinaChinese journalist and rapper who was detained by government officials while attempting to locate journalist Chen Qiushi. Two months later, he posted a video saying that he had been temporarily arrested by police and later released.Found alive2 months20 March 2020Gretchen Anthony51United States51-year-old Gretchen Stoughton Anthony was an American woman from Jupiter, Florida, who was last seen alive on 20 March 2020. Her estranged husband, David Ethan Anthony, was arrested a week later and charged with her murder and kidnapping. In exchange for having his charges reduced, David admitted to entering Gretchen's home in Abacoa, Florida, and stabbing her to death in her garage. David also disclosed the location of Gretchen's remains, which were found in a wooded area near her home on 21 December 2020.Murdered9 months26 March 2020Soumaïla Cissé71MaliMalian Minister of Finance from 1993 to 2000 and president for the Union for the Republic and Democracy who was abducted by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin jihadists on 26 March 2020. There was no news of his condition, until his release on 6 October 2020.Found alive6 months22 April 2020Vanessa Guillén20United StatesGuillén was a 20-year-old woman who was serving in the United States Army at the time of her disappearance. She had told her family and close friends that she was being sexually harassed by a fellow soldier, but never made an official complaint to her chain of command. Guillén was last seen on 22 April 2020, at approximately 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot of her unit on Fort Hood, Texas. On 30 June 2020, authorities discovered human remains along the Leon River, in Belton, which after examination indicated that they were indeed Guillén's. The autopsy revealed the cause of death was due to bludgeoning.Murdered2 months 8 days30 April 2020 Facundo Astudillo Castro22–23ArgentinaCastro was an Argentine man who disappeared on 30 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic after he was stopped by the police in Mayor Buratovich, Buenos Aires. Castro was found dead on 15 August 2020. Castro's death was revealed to be caused by drowning.Drowned107 days15 May 2020Luis Espinoza31ArgentinaEspinoza was an Argentinian citizen who was shot and killed by police officers on 15 May 2020, who suspected that he participated in an illegal horse race. His body was then dumped in a ravine, and later located after his family members inquired about his disappearance. Several police officers have been charged with his murder.Murdered1 week17 May 2020Shad Gaspard39United StatesOn 17 May 2020, former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard and his 10-year-old son went swimming at the Marina Del Rey Beach in California when both were caught in a rip current. Gaspard directed life guards to save his son first. His son was saved, but Gaspard had submerged underwater. Lifeguards at the beach, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Los Angeles Fire Department searched for Gaspard until 7:30 p.m. that evening, when the search was called off. Three days later, on 20 May 2020, Gaspard's body was found on the beach and identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.Drowned3 days6 June 2020Bibaa Henry46United KingdomTwo British women who disappeared while walking home from a party in north-west London on 6 June 2020. Although reported missing, the police allegedly showed little interest in searching for them; their family found their bodies in Fryent Country Park the next day. They were murdered by a man as a result of a "satanic pact". The case gained notoriety after it emerged that police officers who found the bodies took selfies with them.Murdered1 dayNicole Smallman279 June 2020Oluwatoyin Salau 19United StatesOluwatoyin Salau was a community activist from Tallahassee, Florida who was reported missing on 9 June 2020, and was found dead four days later after being murdered.Murdered4 days8 July 2020Naya Rivera33United StatesRivera, an American actress best known for her role on Glee, was declared missing after she went swimming with her 4-year-old son in Lake Piru, California, on 8 July 2020, and never returned. She was declared presumed dead in a drowning incident the next day, and her body was recovered on 13 July 2020. It is suspected that she and her son got caught in a current; she pushed her son onto their boat, but could not get up herself.Drowned5 days9 July 2020Park Won-soon64South KoreaPark was a South Korean politician, lawyer, and activist, and was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul. He disappeared on 9 July 2020, and was found dead a day later; it was revealed that he died by suicide.Suicide1 day24 June 2020İpek Er18Turkeyİpek Er was an 18-year-old Kurdish student from Batman who died on 18 August 2020, following a suicide attempt resulting from her kidnapping and repeated rape over a 20-day period of confinement the previous month.Suicide20 days18 July 2020Bernadette Walker17United KingdomWalker was a 17-year-old student at Peterborough College who disappeared on 18 July 2020. Her stepfather Scott Walker was convicted of murdering her and has since died in prison.Murdered1 year13 July 2020Brad Booth45United States The Canadian professional poker player was reported missing on 30 July 2020, after telling his roommates in Reno, Nevada that he was going camping on 13 July 2020. His family announced that Booth had been located "alive and well" on 16 September 2020.Found alive65 days12 November 2020Melissa Caddick49AustraliaAustralian financial advisor who vanished on 12 November 2020, amid allegations that she was running a Ponzi scheme. Her partial human remains were found floating in the ocean in February 2021, but cause of death is yet to be established.Died (unknown cause)4 monthsNovember 2020Esther Dingley37FranceDingley was an English hiker and blogger who disappeared during a solo trip through the Pyrenees. Partial remains were found in July 2021, and later confirmed by DNA examination to be Dingley's. She possibly died from slipping off a cliff.Died (accidental fall) 8 months13 December 2020Jason Landry21United StatesLandry disappeared after his car was found crashed and abandoned in Luling, Texas on 13 December 2020. He was driving home from college when the crash occurred. Landry's remains were found near the crash site on 8 September 2026 and were identified that same month.Died (unknown cause)6 years
2021