Ann Gotlib

Infobox Person
name = Ann Gotlib


image_size =
caption =
birth_name =
birth_date = May 5, 1971
birth_place = Russia
nationality = Russian American
known_for = Missing person
height = height|ft=5|in=1 (at age 12)
weight = convert|85|lb|kg (at age 12)
parents = Anatoly and Lyudmila Gotlib

Ann Gotlib (born May 5 1971) disappeared on June 1 1983.cite web|url=http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gotlib_ann.html|title=Ann Gotlib Information Page|accessdate=2008-08-11|publisher=The Charley Project]

Background

Gotlib, a Russian Jewish immigrant, came to the United States in 1980 and was fluent in English and Russian.

Disappearance

Ann was last seen on June 1 1983 between 5:30 and 6:00 PM. She was visiting Bashford Manor Mall, across the street from the apartment complex where she lived with her family. Her bike was later found outside the Bacon's Department Store at the mall.

Investigation

Gotlib vanished without any trace ever being found. The FBI headed the investigation. Police investigated thousands of leads and between thirty and forty suspects over the years. Three days after her disappearance, a police dog traced a scent to the apartment of Ester Okmyansky, the grandmother of the last person to see Gotlib alive. Okmyansky said Gotlib had never visited the apartment, and after a thorough investigation of her family, police concluded the dog had been in error.

Others investigated included a sex offender who had been at the mall within an hour of Gotlib's disappearance and a serial sex offender who had an alibi.

An often repeated conspiracy theory held that Gotlib had been abducted by the Russian government to force her parents to return to their country of origin. Both FBI and the Gotlib family had dismissed this theory. Another theory was that she had left voluntarily after having trouble to adapt to life in the United States. Investigators and her family dismissed this as well, saying she gave no indications of anxiety prior to the disappearance, and if she had run away voluntarily she likely would have taken some money or possessions, and made contact eventually.cite news|title=Gotlib case - 20 years later|publisher=Courier-Journal|date=2003-06-02|author=Edelin, Sharon|pages=1A]

In 1990, Texas Death Row inmate Michael Lee Lockhart claimed to have killed Gotlib and buried her body at Fort Knox and eventually provided a map of the burial site, but after a thorough investigation police found no physical evidence to verify the claim.

As of 2008 the Louisville Metro Police Department still listed the disappearance as an open case. [cite news|title=Ann Gotlib 's fate remains mystery|publisher=Courier-Journal|date=2008-05-31|author=Cunningham, Sarah|pages=1B] Nevertheless, it is considered a cold case due to the amount of time that has passed. The investigation documents fill four filing cabinets. [cite news|title=25 years on, we still haven’t found Ann Gotlib|publisher=Louisville Eccentric Observer|date=2008-06-01|url=http://leoweekly.com/?q=node/6975|author=Heron, Mat]

Impact

Due to the startling way Gotlib vanished in broad daylight without any trace, it was a key case that lead the United States Congress to create the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 1984 to coordinate departments involved in missing persons cases. The center credits the Gotlib case with increasing national awareness of missing and abducted children and revolutionizing how missing-child cases are handled. One new technique that came out of the investigation was the use of billboards and other tactics to generate widespread awareness of a missing person, which was considered foolish by conventional wisdom at the time.

References

External links

* [http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=601552&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children page with age progression image]