Missing Persons

Each year, thousands of people around the world disappear. Many of these people are found, and many of them are not. When a person disappears, there is always a chance that someone will find them, if the right protocol is followed.

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Missing Children
Most of the missing persons cases in the United States and Europe have to do with missing children. Children are taken every day from parks, roadways, and public areas such as shopping centers. In most of the missing children cases, time is an important factor. When a child is taken, the two days following the abduction are what is the most important. If a child is taken and recovered within the following forty-eight hours, the child has a better chance of being found alive. However, after forty-eight hours have passed, the chance is much lower that the child will be found alive, or that they will be found at all.

Child abductions have been happening in the world for many years. They have also been happening in the undeveloped world for a long time, although these are not as publicized as those that happen in the developed world. In the United States and Europe, child abductions have declined in the past twenty years. This is mostly due to the heavy increase in education for children. In the United States and Europe, children are taught to stay out of situations where abduction might occur. They are also taught what to say and do if a person approaches them an attempts to kidnap them. Therefore, education has led to a reduction in the number of child abductions. However, there are still many children that disappear each day.

Kidnapped Over State Lines
Kidnapping is a very serious charge already. However, when a person takes a child over state lines, it gets worse. When someone kidnaps a child, the police department in the state where the kidnapping happened is in charge of the investigation. The state where the abduction happened is the state that heads up the investigation. The police from that particular state attempt to find the child that has disappeared. If a person is found to have kidnapped a child, it is also the state that will punish them for this action. The punishment for kidnapping varies according to several factors. These factors include how long the child was missing, what happened to the child while they were missing, and what the result of the kidnapping was.

When a child is taken over state lines, the situation gets worse. In the United States, kidnapping a child is an offence that is made worse if the kidnapper takes the child over state lines. At this point, the FBI gets involved. Therefore, when a person is charged with kidnapping a child, and they took the child over state lines, they are going to get a much higher punishment. In Europe, a kidnapper will be in much more trouble if they have taken a child from one country to another.

Protocol For Missing Children
There is a certain protocol that is followed when a child is missing. Even though the police systems in the United States and Europe are different, the missing children protocol is generally the same. The main idea is to get the information out to the public as soon as possible.

When a child is reported as missing, the first thing that happens is that a complete description of the child is taken. This will include as much information about the child as possible. Therefore, the eye color, hair color and size of the child will be recorded. The police will also want to know what the child was wearing when they disappeared. Another thing that the police will ask is if the child has any identifying characteristics that will set them apart from other children. These might include things on the child’s body, such as scars or birthmarks. It will also include things that the child might do to set them apart from others, such as disabilities or speech patterns.

Information is also gathered regarding the person who took the child. This might include a description of the person, the car they were driving in, or any other information about who took the child. This information is taken from clues found at the scene, as well as from eyewitness accounts.

After the descriptions have been taken, and a current photo of the child has been collected, the police move into the next phase of the investigation. This phase has one main goal, and this is to get information out to the public. In the United States, when a child is missing, an Amber Alert is put out. This is an alert that gives a description of the child and also a description of the person who took the child.

From this point on, the investigation is considered open. The police will work with tips and eyewitness accounts, in order to find the missing child as soon as possible. The case is continued to be open until the child is found.

Who Takes Children
Children are abducted all over the United States and Europe. Most of the time, children are taken by someone that they know. This was not always true. In the past, children were taken both by people they knew, and people they did not know. However, because of education and training, children are less likely to go with someone that they do not know. Therefore, the majority of child abductions happen among families or close friends.

In the majority of cases, a child is abducted by a family member. Often, this happens because of a custody dispute. It might mean that the child is not in very much danger because they have been taken by a non-custodial parent. Thus, the parent loves them and only wants to have them. Many times a child is not harmed in these types of abductions. However, if the court has decided that one parent should have custody of the child, the other parent is not allowed to take them. Therefore, a parent who takes a child that they do not have custody of is guilty of kidnapping.

In some situations, a child is taken by someone that they do not know. These cases do not happen as often as family abductions, but when they do happen they are often more serious.

Missing Adults
Adults make up missing persons cases as well. The main difference between missing adults and missing children is what happens. Most of the time when a child disappears, they are considered to be kidnapped. This also happens with adults, but there are also many cases of missing adults in which there is no clear-cut idea that they were taken.

Sometimes, adults are kidnapped in the same manner that children are; in these cases, there will be a suspect. However, sometimes adults simply go missing, which means that no one knows where they are. This does happen with children, but it happens more often with adults.

Adults Taken Over State Lines
When an adult has been taken by someone else, it is a very serious issue. In these situations, the police in the state or country where the adult disappeared are in charge. When an adult is taken, the location where the adult was taken is considered to be the home location for the disappearance.

However, when someone kidnaps an adult and takes them across state lines in the United States, or to another country in Europe, there are lots of issues to consider. Again, the FBI will get involved if an adult is found to have been taken across state lines. When the FBI becomes involved, it will be a much more serious matter for the person who has taken an adult.

Protocol For Missing Adults
The protocol for missing adults is slightly different than for missing children. When a child is missing, the adults that notice the child missing are in charge of that child’s whereabouts. When an adult is in charge of a child, they can file a missing child report as soon as the child is missing. This is because by law, a child is not considered to be in charge of where they go and who the child is with until he or she is an adult. Therefore, when they are missing, an adult is able to file a report immediately.

The reason that missing adults are treated differently has to do with the issue of a person being an adult. In the United States and Europe, when a person is an adult, they are considered to be able to take care of themselves. Therefore, when an adult is missing, there might be a chance that they have simply gone somewhere and not told anyone. Each adult has a right to go wherever they want, whenever they want. Because of this right, an adult cannot be declared missing until it is proven that they are. In most situations, an adult must be missing for twenty-four hours before the people in their lives can file a missing person’s account. This is the protocol that is followed when a person has simply disappeared.

There is a difference in the protocol when an adult has obviously been kidnapped. If there is proof that there has been foul play, or if there is a witness that saw the adult be taken, the process can begin much sooner. When twenty-four hours has gone past in order to file a normal missing person’s account, or if there is proof to file one sooner, the protocol is the same. Once a person has been declared missing, the descriptions are taken and the clues are gathered. Then, the investigation begins.

Who Takes Adults
When an adult is taken, there are many possibilities. Most of the time, an adult is taken by someone they know. The majority of adult abductions take place at home. In the majority of cases that involve missing adults, the perpetrator is someone that the adult knows. Most of the adult abductions are women who are taken by men that they know. These can be husbands or boyfriends, or men that they have met before.

When an adult goes missing, there are other possibilities that the police must consider. Sometimes, a woman or a man is taken by someone who does not know them. In these cases, it is often harder to solve.

Missing Persons Statistics and Results
There are many situations where people go missing. Sometimes, these are children, and sometimes these are adults. When a person goes missing, there is a lot to consider. First of all, whether the missing person is an adult or a child, the first thing to consider is the time frame. With adults and children, the quicker the information can be released, the better. Therefore, when someone goes missing, it is most important to get the descriptions out into the public as soon as possible. As soon as the information gets into the public, there is a chance that the missing person can be found.

In sixty percent of cases where a person is abducted by someone they know they are not harmed. This does not mean that they are found, however. Often, family abductions are not solved for many years, and the person in question has grown up or changed dramatically.

With non-familiar child or adult abductions, the statistics are different. If a person is taken by someone that they do not know, it all depends on how long it takes the police to find them. If more than two days go past, the chances that they will be found alive drop dramatically.

Sadly, many of the missing persons cases are never solved. Each year, hundreds of people simply disappear forever. The best way to prevent this from happening to you or someone you love is to be smart and to always be on the lookout for danger. Teaching children and adults both to avoid dangerous situations is an important way to stop missing persons cases from happening.


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