At least 21 people have vanished in Utah since 2013 with little information on their whereabouts. According to the Utah Missing Persons Registry, these people include the following:
Jerika Binks
Jerika Binks, the most recent missing person on the list, was last seen on Feb. 18, 2018, in American Fork. According to Good4Utah, Binks was last seen jogging, one of her privileges while attending a treatment facility located on North County Boulevard.
Video footage released by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office indicated Binks’ last known location was near Lone Peak High School. According to the Daily Herald, a woman matching Binks’ description was identified on footage from Timpanogos Cave National Monument. Authorities conducted a multi-day search but didn’t find anything pointing to Binks’ whereabouts.
Authorities haven’t found evidence of foul play but haven’t ruled it out. Binks’ family is offering a $10,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.
Melvin Heaps
Arizona native Melvin Heaps, 74, was last seen on July 31, 2017, before a hike in the Uinta mountains. Heaps, who is partially deaf, left for a hiking trip in the Uintas along the Crystal Lake trailhead, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. His family called 911 after he failed to return home.
After searching the area for several days, authorities were unable to find any trace of Heaps.
Emily & Gabriel Almiron
Emily Almiron and her son, Gabriel, disappeared on September 8, 2015. They were last seen by Christopher Richard Poulson, Almiron’s ex-boyfriend, leaving their Orem apartment. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, her cell phone was never used again and her bank account wasn’t accessed following their disappearance.
Almiron’s disappearance was reported by her ex-husband when she failed to show up for a custody hearing. Police later arrested Poulson in Hawaii after Almiron’s car was found in St. George, Utah, in April 2016. Location data showed Poulson had traveled to that location days after Almiron’s disappearance, and a cadaver dog found evidence that a body had been in a car used by Poulson, which he later sold.
Fox 13 reported in 2017 that investigators said Poulson had lied to authorities several times to cover his tracks. Poulson was charged with two counts of aggravated homicide for the death of Almiron and her son and could face 25 years to life in prison. The bodies have not been found.
Macin Smith
A 17-year-old St. George native, Macin Smith, left home on Sept. 1, 2015, leaving his phone and wallet at home, according to Good4Utah. A week later, his parents found a note inside the wallet that indicated Smith wanted to hurt himself.
According to the Spectrum, Smith’s family received various tips regarding his location, including a lead in Sacramento, Calif. The leads never worked out, and Smith was never found.
In 2017, human remains were found in the desert south of St. George, but it’s currently unknown whether they are Smith’s. The Spectrum recently reported that authorities are still investigating Smith’s disappearance and have found new electronic evidence pertaining to the case.
