Missing
Persons

A Missing Person is someone who has vanished under unusual circumstances, and may be in danger. This would include teen runaways, people who are struggling with substance abuse or mental illness, or suffering from depression and have threatened to harm themselves. There are also the rare, but terrifying instances of those who vanish under suspicious circumstances, and may have been involved in an accident or the victim of a crime.

Some people make a conscious effort to disappear, usually to avoid some obligation or legal consequence. Perhaps they have skipped out on debts, are involved in extra-marital affairs, or know that police have issued a warrant for their arrest. Locating these kinds of people is known as “skiptracing,” or “fugitive recovery.”

Then there are the people who aren’t in danger, and aren’t trying to evade creditors or the police. They are usually law-abiding citizens living normal, average lives somewhere, and have no idea anyone is looking for them. This is the largest category of missing persons and can include things like; beneficiaries of life insurance policies or wills, absent property owners, the biological parents of an adopted child, witnesses to a crime, estranged family members, friends from youth, or a long-lost romantic interest.

In today’s technologically reliant world, it has become increasingly difficult for a person to stay hidden for long.