It can be challenging to find a missing person, and whether they have disappeared online or offline, it can also be very stressful. This article is here to give you tips on how to find people that have disappeared and help you to find them once again.
9 ways for finding a missing person
1. Start with social media
Social media is a very effective tool in tracking people down, even if they change contact numbers. People’s geolocations are constantly monitored and fed back to social media apps.
Apps such as Facebook or Instagram will show where the last login came from. This can be a useful piece of information as it will help you to work out where the missing person was at the time of login.
It is essential to look through the missing person’s social media and analyze their interactions with people to work out who they may have potentially gone to in order to keep a low profile.
- Read also: How to search for someone on Instagram
2. Call around
Once you have established that a person is missing, you have to call around the local hospitals and police stations. Somebody may have seen them, and they may be hurt. You also need to call around the missing person’s friends and acquaintances to see if they have any idea as to where they may have gone.
Most of the time, when a person is missing, they are staying with a trusted friend or family member. So, it’s crucial that you contact anybody and everybody that you can think of. It only takes one lead to find a missing person.
3. Look for police reports
Now, keep in mind that as soon as you realize somebody has gone missing, you should file a report on them as if the police are also looking for them. You are more likely to find them. Police have a lot of resources available to them that the general public doesn’t have access to; therefore, telling the police that a person is missing is a great way to increase the likelihood of finding them.
4. CCTV camera may help
Once you have located the last place that the person was known to be, you may need to gather as much CCTV information as you can for the surrounding area. If you ask people and explain, they will usually be very forthcoming with any information that might help. By following local CCTV cameras, you can see which direction the person headed and, therefore, can follow the trail of their movements.
5. Create posters about them
When a person goes missing, the best thing to do is to make the community and general public aware as quickly as possible. Using visual aids such as a recent photograph of the missing person will help the public to know who they are looking out for. Thus, having the public look for this person will also increase the likelihood of finding them, as the more pairs of eyes looking, the better.
Creating missing person posters and putting them all around the suspected area they were last seen will help to jog people’s memories in case they previously saw them and will also help people to keep an eye out for them. Social media is a great way to get your message out there as quickly as possible and will make more people aware than simple posters ever could.
6. Search by a different alias
It is possible that sometimes when people go missing, they don’t want to be found. So, while this can be frustrating, it’s better that you don’t stop looking. People that go missing sometimes use an alias and go by a different name to their usual one. So that they cannot be found.
When searching on social media, ensure that you look for new accounts under any nicknames or variations of their names. The reason behind that is because missing people often keep an eye on social media, so they know if the net is closing in.
7. Ask people door to door
When a person goes missing around a particular area, the best thing to do is to reach out to the locals of that area. By going from door to door, speaking to people, and showing them a photo of the missing person, you are refreshing their memory, and it may help them to remember something important.
By showing people the photo of the missing person, they might be able to recall information that is relevant. They may have seen them and subconsciously forgotten about it. For those that don’t answer the door, you can post through a leaflet with a photo of the missing person on. So that they will see it when they return home.
8. Search for their known places
Part of the searching process is actually going out and looking for somebody. Note down their favorite places to go when they are happy or sad, and start from there. Often missing people go to a place that is meaningful to them. Whether, in a good or a bad way, it is a great place to start.
Usually, the local community is willing to help out in the search for a missing person. Thus, you need to rally all the help and support that you can possibly get.
When you have found volunteers to help you in the search, you may need to coordinate this. So that you can effectively search the local area and don’t miss anywhere important.
- Keep reading: Finding a person with their first name and age
9. Contact them by any way
When somebody goes missing, it is essential that you persistently try to make contact with them. Whether it is through press releases, their social media accounts, or through their phone, it is always a good idea that you keep an open line of communication for them. Also, ensure that they know you aren’t annoyed, you just want them home.
Conclusion
People that run away or go missing can often find it difficult to muster up the courage to make contact. With this in mind, it’s better to maintain the attempts to contact them as one attempt they might just answer. If a missing person has their phone, they may answer messages, calls, or even social media interactions as they see the mounting efforts to find them.
