How to find a Missing Person

Tracing a missing person can be hectic, humiliating and also time consuming, especially when doing it on your own. However, these should not convince you to give up in case someone close to you has gone missing. Missing persons are usually people in need of safety, love and care or even medical attention. As a result of this, it is not advisable to sit back and wait for the victim to return or show up somewhere. In fact, that could put the victim in even much greater danger.  Finding a missing person requires a well-calculated, effective and immediate response. 

Guidelines on how to find a missing person

The process of tracing a missing person can involve a series of activities, which must be effectively carried out to increase the chances of success. The following are some of the key guidelines to rely on whenever you need to trace a missing person; 

• Inform the police       

The police have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all citizens including, finding missing persons. As soon as you learn of an unexplained absence of your family, friend or any other person, it is important to contact the police.

When reporting the matter, it is important to give the police adequate and helpful information that you believe could help in finding the missing person like, their unique traits, friends or associates, activities, places they frequent among others.

• Contact a private investigator

Although the police can help in locating missing persons, they may not always act as fast as expected due to other commitments. Finding missing persons are one of the main tasks of private investigators, and hiring one could be more effective than relying on the police. Private investigation agencies have well trained personnel and resources to use in tracing missing persons much faster and conveniently.

A private investigator can offer more specialized search to ensure the process is done thoroughly and within a short time. Whether you file a report with the police or hire an investigator for the task, remember to keep a copy of the given statements for follow-ups.

• Background Check with family members, friends or acquaintances

Sometimes, family members, friends and associates of the victim could have useful information about them, which can be relied upon in the search process. You should not ignore but try to reach out to as many acquaintances of the missing person as possible for leads on how to pursue the search.

• Keep in touch with investigators

After reporting the matter to the police and private investigators, you should not just sit back and wait for results. Keeping in touch with the police and investigators will enable you to get updates on the progress of the case. You can also use the opportunity to provide them with any new information about the victim that could help in tracking them down.

• Seek alternative options

Apart from the police and private investigators, there are other avenues that you can also pursue when looking for a missing person. Some of the most common ones include, registering with online databases for missing persons, making announcements over the media, searching hospitals and mortuaries among others. When making an announcement on the media, it would also be advisable to consider special measures like giving a reward for information that could help in locating the missing person.

The guidelines discussed above could be of great help in finding missing persons. The police, private investigators and alternative search methods can either deliver positive or negative results depending on the circumstances of the missing person. This means, there is usually no guarantee that the person will be found safe. However, hiring a private investigator can give you an assurance that the search will be conducted effectively and with the urgency it deserves.