The Critical Steps in Finding a Missing Person
It is definitely a serious matter if a person has gone missing suddenly leaving no traces behind whatsoever. There can be numerous possible reasons for such a scenario. For example, they may have deliberately taken the action to disappear and live a life with a new identity at a location far away from their home or it could be a case of kidnapping. In some cases, an accident at an unknown place may also be the reason for their disappearance.
Regardless of the reason, the experience of having someone suddenly disappearing from your life can prove to be quite traumatizing. These cases require urgent attention; thus, there are certain steps you need to perform as soon as possible. Here are some of them:
Report to Authorities
It is a common myth that a case of a missing individual cannot be registered until 24 hours have been passed. There is no truth in it as it can be reported as soon as you have gotten to know about their disappearance. However, since police have too many other grave cases to deal with, they may not be able to dedicate complete attention to such cases. Regardless, it is still recommended to report the case to authorities as they may get a lead on the missing person.
Check their Social Media Accounts
Leaving the matters in the hands of authorities only is the not an ideal practice if you want to know about the missing individual on an urgent basis. There are certain things you can do in order to get to know their whereabouts. For example, you can check the activities on their social media accounts. Knowing when they were last active can help you to have an idea on the time of their disappearance. Furthermore, it may also tell you about their last location.
Check Hospitals and Jails
While it is good to stay positive and hopeful if one of your loved ones have gone missing; however, the best approach is to keep yourself prepared for the worst as well. Hence, you need to contact jails and hospitals as well if you cannot find anything regarding their whereabouts. It can be an unfortunate case of an accident or any other reason that have landed them behind the bars.
Contact their Friends
Ideally, this is one of the first things you should do when you notice a closed one has gone missing. You may get a lead from them related to their location. This practice can prove to be handy if they left the home after a fight. Hence, it is always recommended to have numbers of their best friends saved with you.
Spread the Word on Social Media
Social media can prove to be of great help in this regard. You can create digital posters of the missing individual and ask your social circle to spread the word on the social media. You may get some information on their location with the help of this action. Furthermore, you may also find some online communities dedicated to serving people with finding missing individual services.
Hire a Private Missing Person Investigator
It can prove to be the most effective action. Hiring a private mission person investigator is recommended since they offer individualized services. They are experienced and have the required expertise that can help them to find the missing person or get valuable information related to them.
A Final Word
To sum it up, finding a missing person is, without any doubt, a tough task. However, by performing the steps discussed above, you may get your hands on some vital information that can help you to locate them.
Author Bio:- This post was written by Specialized Investigation Consultants. Specialized Investigations Consultants is a professional Miami-based investigation company founded, owned and operated by current and retired law enforcement professionals. Our Miami-based investigations business serves all of South Florida with over 100 years of combined State, Federal and Local law enforcement experience.