A missing person is any individual who has disappeared from their accustomed network of social and personal relationships to the extent that others define their absence as interfering with performance of expected or normal responsibilities and leads to a search for them by those members of their community. Missing persons can be found alive or dead and may be identified through the comparison of physical characteristics, fingerprints, dental/body X-rays, and other methods.

There are many reasons for someone to go missing. Some people disappear on purpose, for example:

Runaways make up the largest category of missing persons. These individuals have the potential to be exposed to adverse and exploitive influences that can cause them harm while away from home, and they often enter criminal statistics.

Young children who run away, particularly those with autism, are often confused by their environment and may be drawn to places like bodies of water, traffic signs or trains. They can also lose their sense of direction and become lost for long periods of time.

People may become missing due to family discord and conflict, mental health issues, poverty, exploitation by drugs and alcohol or simply because they’re having trouble coping with everyday life. In addition, mental illness such as Alzheimer’s can lead to forgetfulness or disorientation and people can simply disappear for no reason at all. There are many ways to find a missing person and the best place to start is by getting a detailed description of the individual, when they were last seen, their personal information and a list of contacts to contact including friends, family, teachers, colleagues, doctors and others. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is a powerful tool for law enforcement and medical examiners to upload data about missing individuals.