Law enforcement will often seek information from the public, including people who may have happened to be going on with their daily lives but witnessed a crucial moment in the subject's disappearance, said former FBI Special Agent in Charge and ABC News contributor Steve Gomez. In addition, it's important to generate as much awareness and as many leads as possible, Gomez said, adding that they tend to slow down after the hour mark.
Those first few days are especially crucial in the event that an individual is being transported or is in danger, Jeanis said. Investigations on missing persons who authorities believe may be vulnerable -- such as children and those with a mental illness -- are expedited because time is of the essence to get the word out to the public to look for them, Jeanis said. Although stranger kidnappings are "very, very rare," children are usually murdered quickly, sometimes within the first three hours but usually within the first two days, Jeanis said.
For others who go missing, there is usually a point in time in the investigation when objective switches from attempting to find a live person to trying to locate a body, Gomez said. As soon as police get a call reporting that someone is missing, they'll begin to evaluate whether the case even involves a missing person at all.
Law enforcement then chooses how they will allocate resources to missing persons cases on a "case-by-case basis," Jeanis said. For adults who are reported missing, one of the things investigators look to first is whether the subject was displaying a-typical behavior. If someone called police to report that a spouse didn't come home right away, investigators will ask follow-up questions such as whether its unusual for him or her to go without contact for long periods of time, the experts said.
There might have been an argument,'" Fox said, adding that the "best policy is rather be safe than sorry. However, if the subject usually comes home at a certain time or they have left essentials such as keys, cell phone and wallet at home and are suddenly missing, law enforcement will take that information "into account and adjust accordingly," Fox said. In "serious cases" of missing children, in which law enforcement has a reason to believe the child has been abducted or is in imminent danger, an Amber Alert may be issued, Fox said.
Amber Alerts were designed "especially for those kids who are perceived to be in immediate danger," but there is specific criteria for the level of danger the case must meet to warrant the alert, Jeanis said. For example, a runaway child would not qualify for an Amber Alert, Jeanis said. The reason for the selectivity, in part, is to not desensitize the public. Law enforcement wants the public to be "alert and aware" when a message is sent out, and too many could cause people to ignore it, Jeanis said.
Once the subject is confirmed to be missing, investigators spring into action, setting up command posts, assigning agents to work the leads and organizing all of the information the investigation gathered, Gomez said. For the families, not knowing what happened to their loved one is the "worst thing," and investigators have that in the forefront of their minds as they search for the person, Jeanis said. Getting the word out to the public that someone is missing is "integral" to closing the case, Jeanis said. Jeanis and Fox worked together on a project to determine how social media, traditional media and law enforcement's techniques could "help to bring missing persons home safely, sooner," Fox said.
The study took all of the missing persons cases reported to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database and studied factors such as how many media reports were written about each person, how many words were written about each person and how long it took to find them -- alive or dead -- or if they were never found. The ongoing study has not yet been published, Fox said. Women received nearly 12 times more media coverage, on average, than male victims, while white victims received nearly three times as much total media attention than minority victims, as well as higher word counts within articles, Fox said.
Missing Persons
White, young, female victims -- often college co-eds or mothers -- "definitely get the most amount of attention," Fox said. In addition, the age of the victim correlated inversely with the word count within a story, with each additional year of age corresponding to a 4. Social media has become a "huge asset to safely recovering people," purely due to the ease of spreading the message, Fox said. Fox used the example of Mollie Tibbetts, the Iowa college student who went missing in July and was found about a month later in a farm field. For parents with younger children we encourage you to take note of the following tips to help keep your children safe.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation has developed three easy to remember safety tips to help kids stay safe, "Recognise, React and Report".
Reporting a Missing Person
Visit the Recognise, React, Report website for more information including downloadable activities and videos. Young people can also go missing by choice, often as a short term way of responding to tension or conflict. In these circumstances, going missing is often a symptom rather than the cause of the problem. Running away from the problem can seem like the best available option when they have run out of other solutions. Talking to your child is one of the best ways to help prevent them from going missing. Seek to build respectful trusting relationships with open communication that is non-judgemental.
This provides alternatives for dealing with issues that might otherwise contribute to young people going missing. While talking through issues can be uncomfortable for both you and your child, it is likely to be better than worrying about where they are and what they are doing if they go missing. The Railway Children UK website has more information about talking to your child about running away and there is also a ParentLink guide on running away produced by the ACT government.
If they are already considering running away then talking about it may open the door to other ways of dealing with their problems. We work in partnership with a number of mental health organisations to educate the Australian community about the link between mental health and missing persons. We do this with a view to alleviating the trauma experienced by those people living with a mental illness, their families and friends, and to reduce the incidence of people going missing due to mental health issues.
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People experiencing poor mental health have numerous triggers that may result in them going missing, these include:. Some people go missing for a short period of time, some may go missing time and time again, whilst others disappear for the long term — increasing the risk of being a victim of crime. There is a persistent stigma within the community of acknowledging that mental health is a community health issue.
Both the missing person and those who are left behind can feel that they have little support available to them. One of the keys to preventing people with mental health issues from going missing is to provide them with alternative options. Communication is part of presenting those options, whether it is between you and your loved one, or the ability for your loved one to receive the professional assistance they need to better cope with life. Someone you know could be suffering from a mental health issue and may be at risk of going missing.
Signs include:. If someone you know is suffering from a mental health issue your understanding and support may prevent them from becoming a missing person. If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call Lifeline 24 hours : 13 11 Contact details for other agencies offering information, resources and support services are available on our support services page.
It is a broad term, which describes the loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and normal emotional reactions. Getting lost can be common amongst people with dementia and can be very worrying for those concerned for their safety and well-being. The person, when lost, may appear to be. There are many reasons why people with dementia may be unable to find their way back home or to the location they were seeking. These include:. Reducing the risk of unsafe walking is very important and there are several things to consider in making sure a person with dementia is as safe as possible when leaving their home unaccompanied.
It can be a difficult balance to strike. It is also important that a person with dementia who goes missing be located as quickly as possible. Ways of achieving this can include:. The authorities must be quickly contacted if you know of a person with dementia does not return as expected and cannot be readily located. They may need urgent help. The earlier a search is started the more likely it is the person will be located safely and unharmed. Call the police immediately after you have checked with family and community connections that the person is not with them.
Do not wait, make the call to police. This is a very important issue for our community and we urge carers of people with dementia and their families to be mindful of the dangers. Dementia Australia is a good starting point for anyone diagnosed with dementia or for the carers and family members of someone with dementia.
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Call the National Dementia Helpline on for information, support and advice. Or head to dementia.
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This national database provides a unique function enabling the cross-matching of outstanding missing individuals with unidentified people, bodies and remains. Police and members of the public can review a central national database of unidentified people and bodies cases and submit details regarding the potential identity via our online reporting form. We will acknowledge the email within five working days.
Depending on the quality of information provided however we cannot guarantee that the force or coroner will be able to investigate further, or how long the investigation may take. If someone you know has gone missing unexpectedly please report to your local police in person or by using the service. In an emergency, always call If you recognise an unidentified case after searching our database, please complete our online form providing as much information as possible. Even though they may not have been reported missing if there is enough information to indicate a potential match then the police will still investigate accordingly.
A number of people who have lost contact with family and friends may decide to report them missing after reviewing our website. There is a difference, however, between a missing person and a lost contact case and police forces do not deal with the latter. There are a number of reasons why people lose touch with each other, such as moving house or family conflict, and it is understandable that they seek to reconnect; however if there is no indication of vulnerability or concern then this will be considered a lost contact case and police will not become involved.
Instead there are a number of tracing agencies who may be able to provide a service:.