A missing person is someone who has disappeared, and it is not known whether they are alive or dead. Their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing because they choose to disappear on their own, or because of an accident, crime, or death in a place where they cannot be found, such as at sea. In many parts of the world, missing people are often found quickly. Criminal abductions are among the most commonly reported missing person cases.
However, some missing person cases remain unsolved for many years. Laws about these cases can be complicated because, in many areas, relatives and others cannot handle a person's belongings until their death is legally proven and a formal death certificate is issued. When a person goes missing, the uncertainty and lack of closure or a funeral can cause great pain for family and friends, with effects that last for a long time.
Several organizations work to connect people, share good methods, and spread information and pictures of missing children to help find them more effectively. These include the Missing Persons Center, the International Commission on Missing Persons, and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC). National groups, such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the United States, Missing People in the United Kingdom, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece, also help with these efforts.
Reasons
People disappear for many reasons. Some people choose to disappear, while others may disappear by accident, such as getting lost. In some cases, disappearance happens to someone because they are taken against their will, like through abduction or imprisonment. Reasons for disappearance may include:
Legal aspects
A common belief is that a person must be missing for at least 24 hours before being legally considered missing, but this is not usually true. Law enforcement agencies advise reporting a missing person as soon as possible. It is very important to report a missing person quickly so that action can be taken during the first 48 hours after they are declared missing. During these 48 hours, police can speak with people who saw the event and gather details about suspects while their memories are still clear. In most common law areas, a missing person can be declared legally dead after seven years without being found. This time may be shorter in some cases.
Searches
In most countries, the police are the main group responsible for leading an investigation when someone goes missing. Disappearances at sea are usually handled by a different group, such as a coast guard, because they need special skills for water searches. In many countries, including the United States, volunteer search and rescue teams can help the police during searches. Other groups, like fire departments, mountain rescue teams, and cave rescue teams, may also join if their special skills are needed. Police groups, such as Lancashire Constabulary, emphasize the importance of finding the missing person quickly, checking if the person is in danger, and searching places connected to the person.
Several organizations help with missing person cases that have not been solved. These include the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the United States, Missing People in the United Kingdom, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece. Some missing person cases receive a lot of attention from the media, and searchers may ask the public for help. Pictures of the missing person may be shown on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, websites, and social media to spread information about their appearance.
Media coverage
Some people have suggested there may be a difference in how American news media covers missing white individuals compared to missing Black individuals. According to Seong-Jae Min and John C. Feaster, throughout history, the news media has often given more detailed coverage to white individuals, especially wealthy women, than to people of color. The authors note that a connection between race and media coverage has been found, but they do not know if race is the direct cause. They also say that a child's socioeconomic status or appearance might affect how much media attention they receive.
American journalist Howard Kurtz, who studies media, agreed that a person's race and wealth can influence how much media coverage they get. He used the kidnappings of Elizabeth Smart and Alexis Patterson as examples. When Smart, a young, wealthy white girl from Utah, went missing, the media covered her case globally. She was found safely after several months. In contrast, when Patterson, a young Black girl from Wisconsin, went missing, she only received local news coverage and is still missing today.
In the United States, groups like the Black and Missing Foundation work to raise awareness and promote fairness for missing people of color. This non-profit organization, started in 2008, helps families of missing people of color and teaches communities about personal safety. Another group, Black and Missing but not Forgotten, led by Deidra Robey, also helps spread information about missing people.
Kristen Gilchrist has studied Canadian news media and found that Aboriginal women receive less coverage than white women. Her research shows that articles about Aboriginal women are shorter, with an average of 518 words compared to 713 words for white women. These articles are also less likely to appear on the front page of newspapers. Gilchrist described the tone of these stories as more "detached."
Many widely reported missing person cases involve children kidnapped by strangers. However, these cases are rare. In most places, most missing children are not kidnapped by strangers but by someone who knows the child, such as a non-custodial parent. Spending too much time with a non-custodial parent can be considered an abduction. In 1999, about 800,000 children were reported missing in the United States. Of these, 203,900 were victims of family abductions, and 58,200 were victims of non-family abductions. Only 115 cases involved kidnappings by strangers or people with little connection to the child, who intended to harm, keep, or demand money. This number matches the 38 non-family abductions that triggered an Amber Alert in 2018.
International statistics and efforts
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2012 that about 8 million children go missing worldwide each year. The BBC News noted that while many missing children are found quickly, some cases can last for months or even years. Child disappearances are now seen as a major issue for governments and international leaders, especially in cases involving cross-border kidnappings, organized trafficking of children, child pornography, and unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.
According to the UNHCR, more than 15,000 unaccompanied or separated children applied for asylum in the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland in 2009. These children face difficult situations and are at high risk of human rights violations. Their protection is essential because they are exposed to many dangers. Most of these children are boys aged 14 or older, from diverse backgrounds, and come mainly from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Iraq.
Sometimes, family members take advantage of these children to gain benefits, such as social or family allowances. Research by Frontex shows that unaccompanied migrant minors face several dangers, including sexual exploitation through pornography, prostitution, and the internet; economic exploitation, such as forced organ donations; and criminal exploitation, such as drug smuggling, child trafficking, forced marriage, and begging.
Criminal groups are heavily involved in human trafficking to the European Union, including using children as labor in the sex trade and other illegal activities. A 2007 UNICEF report on child trafficking in Europe stated that 2 million children are trafficked in Europe each year. This happens in nearly all European countries, and there is no clear difference between countries where children come from and where they are taken to. While trafficking is often linked to sexual exploitation, it also involves labor, domestic work, begging, criminal activities, and other forms of abuse.
The UNICEF report also points out that there is a lack of consistent and organized data collection, analysis, and sharing at all levels. Without this information, countries cannot create effective policies to address the issue. Missing Children Europe, a European group that helps find missing children, works to solve this problem. A new system, called the CRM system, is expected to improve how hotlines share information about missing children.
A British group called the Asylum Screening Unit estimated that 60% of unaccompanied minors in the UK’s social care centers go missing and are never found again. In the UK, these centers are sometimes called "human markets" because traffickers often take children within 24 hours of their arrival. According to the CIA, of the 800,000 people trafficked globally each year, up to 50% are children.
The United Nations runs a Commission on Missing Persons that acts as a global center for coordination and provides statistics about missing people worldwide. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement helps find missing people when contact is lost due to war, disasters, migration, or other crises. It also supports families of missing people to help them rebuild their lives and find emotional healing.
Laws and statistics by country
Austria has a specialized center for missing persons. The police record information about missing people, which is stored in the Austrian Search System (EKIS) and automatically in the Schengen Information System (SIS). In 2016, 8,887 cases were recorded and stored in the EKIS. Of these, 6,322 cases involved EU citizens, except for 44 that were resolved, and 2,565 involved non-EU citizens, except for 264 that were resolved. As of October 1, 2017, 1,300 people were reported missing in Austria: 349 were women, 198 of whom were minors; 951 were men, 597 of whom were minors. Between 2015 and 2017, the number of EU citizens stored in the EKIS as missing was always between 400 and 500. In 2017, 10,000 missing person reports were filed in Austria. As of May 1, 2018, 1,267 people had been reported missing, including 746 children and young people. Only 505 of these were from EU countries.
In January 2019, 1,037 people were recorded as missing in the EKIS, and in January 2020, 884 people were recorded. Between 2016 and 2019, 85% of missing persons cases were resolved within one week, 95% within one month, 97% within six months, and 98% within one year. In 2019, the KAP published a search for only 13 cases. The results showed that eight people were found alive, three were found dead, and two were still missing. The legal rules about missing persons in Austria are covered by the Declaration of Death Act (Todeserklärungsgesetz).
In Australia, over 305,000 people were reported missing between 2008 and 2015. This is about one person reported missing every 18 minutes. On average, 38,159 missing person reports are made each year in Australia.
In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported 60,582 missing children over a ten-year period ending in 2007.
In France, the Fichier des personnes recherchées (FPR) is a database managed by the national police. It is also under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence.
In Ireland, a monument to missing persons was unveiled in County Kilkenny on May 26, 2002, by President Mary McAleese. This was the first monument of its kind in the world.
In Jamaica, Betty Ann Blaine, a child rights advocate, asked the government to create laws to help find missing children. In May 2015, she said, "Jamaica is facing a crisis of missing children. Every month, about 150 children go missing. That is a crisis because we are only 2.7 million people." Her group plans to work with the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) to suggest a model law to Jamaica’s Parliament.
In Japan, it is estimated that 100,000 people disappear each year. The term "jōhatsu" describes people who intentionally leave their lives without a trace.
In South America during the 1970s and 1980s, many countries were ruled by right-wing military dictatorships. These governments often used secret kidnappings to suppress opposition. Victims were sometimes imprisoned, tortured, and killed. In Argentina, during the military dictatorship (1976–1983), nearly 30,000 people disappeared, often by being taken on planes and thrown into the sea.
In the Soviet Union, forced disappearances of political opponents were common. This included imprisonment in gulags, torture, executions, and scientific experiments.
In Russia, a 2018 report by TASS estimated that between 70,000 and 100,000 people go missing each year. About 25% of these cases remain unsolved.
In Switzerland, cantonal police handle missing person reports. They do not have special units for this. A report can be filed one year after an event that could endanger someone’s life or five years after the last sign of life. If someone is found, they can only share information with others if they agree.
In the United Kingdom, a 2012 report by The Huffington Post said that over 140,000 children go missing each year, based on data from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).
In the United States, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) provides statistics on missing persons. Annual "Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics" and Amber alerts (for missing children) are also used. A 2002 study called NISMART–2 looked at missing children in 1999. Amber alerts are used for confirmed abductions where a child is in danger. In 2018, 161 Amber alerts were issued for 203 children. Of these, 23 were hoaxes or unfounded, 92 were family abductions, 38 were non-family abductions, and 8 were runaways, lost, injured, or unclassified. As of early 2019, 11 children were still missing, 7 had been found dead, and the rest had been recovered.
The NISMART–2 study found that about 1.3 million children were missing in 1999. Of these, about 800,000 were reported. The study included data from law enforcement, household surveys, and juvenile facilities. It defined a missing child as someone whose location was unknown to the primary caregiver, causing alarm for at least one hour. The study estimated that 33,000 children were victims of nonfamily abductions, 117,000 of family abductions, 629,000 ran away or were thrown out, 198,000 were lost or injured,