The Last Place You'd Look

Reviews / Votes

An easy to digest narrative of a very difficult subject. Carole Moore has a way of immersing you into story without letting you drown in detail. A highly recommended read for those who desire a realistic look into the world of the missing and unidentified. A much needed nudge in the right direction for those most effected. -- Todd Matthews, www.TentGirl.com, National Volunteer Advisory Board and the Center for Human Identification Program at UNTHSC A remarkable book that offers encouragement to families of the missing. -- Barbara Nelson, Responding to Missing and Unidentified Persons Conference, Fox Valley Technical College Carole Moore's book, The Last Place You'd Look is an A to Z primer about the world of the missing. From abductions, to the history of forensic dentistry, to the realities of CSI against an entertainment industry that takes too many liberties, we get a full picture of the awful tragedy of the many stories about those who get lost, are victimized, or are "just gone" one day. It is impossible to know how the people who are left behind feel, but Moore takes us inside, sharing the family situations as well as the burden on the police-all the folks who dedicate their lives to finding them. This is a well-reached, important read. -- Andrea Campbell, editor for the Arkansas Identification News and diplomate and fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners International A guided tour through the perplexing realm of missing persons. Moore is a professional writer who also spent 12 years as a police officer. She thought she knew a lot about the missing-person phenomenon until she started talking with family members of the missing and attended a conference on missing and unidentified persons. The number of missing adults across the United States at any given point hovers around 40,000, an admittedly rough estimate. When children are included, the number at least doubles. Using case studies, Moore goes broad more than deep, examining almost every imaginable angle: police-agency procedures when receiving a missing-person report; procedures which are too often insensitive and outdated; advances in forensic technology, especially DNA and dental records, which sometimes mean a higher rate of cases solved; abductions of children by a biological parent feuding with the other biological parent; the unique challenges of searching for missing persons who are mentally ill; missing-person cases that cross international borders; the usually devastating, permanent impacts on family members searching for loved ones; how to prove foul play when no physical evidence emerges; and heroic searchers who are unrelated to the missing person by blood, including those at organizations such as Project Jason, the Charley Project, Cue Center for Missing Persons, the Center for Hope and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, among others. The author's case studies, usually treated in a page or two, can create a dizzying effect, but they are appropriate to her arguments. By nature depressing, but shot through with rays of optimism. Kirkus Reviews Since the National Child Safety Council introduced its missing-children milk-carton program in 1984, the problem of disappearing loved ones has sadly grown more widespread. If one includes adults such as college students and the mentally ill, the number of missing persons cases swells to nearly 2,000 per day in the U.S. alone. Yet according to journalist and former police officer Moore, resources for tracking and successfully closing these cases continue to grow, with sophisticated Internet databases and increasing cooperation between national agencies and local law enforcement. Moore was drawn into the crisis when she learned that a college friend disappeared while hitchhiking. This heartbreaking story is just one of dozens Moore shares in a thorough overview of the problems involved in locating everyone, from children abducted by noncustodial parents to the victims of unsolved murders. While Moore's background contributes to a somewhat biased reluctance to criticize flawed enforcement policies, her work offers much valuable information for bereaved families, as well as guidance for staying safer in an increasingly predatory world. Booklist The Last Place You'd Look offers readers a rare inside glimpse at missing person cases, highlighting how disappearances unfold, the effect on those involved and what such cases mean for society as a whole...Moore's hands-on experience -- she served 12 years with the Jacksonville Police Department as a patrol officer and criminal investigator -- shows, but it's her personal connections and care she takes with the families of those who have lost loved ones that shines through in her work...The book examines unsolved disappearances by exploring how people go missing, what efforts are made to find them and the emotional fallout for those left behind. Jacksonville Daily News There are few things more terrifying than a loved one disappearing without a trace, yet this unfortunate reality happens to thousands of people a year. People are kidnapped (sometimes by family members), the mentally ill disappear, we lose track of those traveling abroad, and sometimes people are snatched right out of their own home. Moore, a former police officer, offers anecdotes and personal experience outlining the different types of missing persons, typical police procedures, what family members should be aware of, and finally, the occasional success. Readers looking for a CSI-like collection of happy stories and dramatic denouements should look elsewhere, immediately. These stories are hard, often heartbreaking, and flow forth with the cynical wisdom of the bureaucrat. No doubt this is important information to possess, even vital. Publishers Weekly Focuses on the efforts of police, search and rescue, nonprofits and volunteer organizations to resolve missing persons cases...The Last Place You'd Look provides searches a starting point and gives readers an overview of 'the club no one wants to belong to.' Moore explores an array of real life stories to uncover the various ways people go missing, the efforts made to retrieve them, the emotional fallout, and the challenges such cases present for all involved. Law Enforcement Technology This book can be summed up in four words: It's excellent. Read it... The author tells the missing-person story as if through a literary novel. She focuses on details that penetrate with emotional intensity, then flows on to paint the broad picture around them. Ms. Moore lends immediacy and credibility to the book by writing in her own voice and drawing from personal experience. She closes the overall story of despair with a collection of happy endings, giving the reader a sense of hopeful empowerment. The Last Place You'd Look is lean, balanced, informative, and compelling. The more people who read it, the better chance any lost person has of getting found. New York Journal Of Books