It may seem strange in these days of telecommunications and global connections, but reports of missing people are still some of the most common files the RCMP in New Brunswick handle. In 2016, our members responded to 1,287 reports of someone who was missing. That's an average of three or four a day.
We're happy to report that, in the majority of cases, the missing person is located safely and quickly, often within the first few hours or days of being reported. We don't always share information about a missing person immediately if we have other leads on where they may be – in fact, most don't become public at all. When we need the public's help though, social media is one of our most important tools. Our Facebook and Twitter feeds, along with traditional media, allow us to reach tens of thousands of New Brunswickers in mere minutes, sharing the missing person's information and photo to a huge audience, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to spread the word and increasing the odds of finding them safely.
In some cases, you may notice we are putting out news releases about people who have been reported missing before. It doesn't matter if someone has been reported missing once or a dozen times – the RCMP thoroughly investigates all reports of missing people.
Searching for missing people in the woods or in an undefined area can be challenging, especially because we have so much wilderness in our province. We will sometimes arrange for ground or air searches with professionals who will ensure an area is covered efficiently and thoroughly, but we also have to give them a point of entry or a confirmed area to allow for a meaningful search. This is why it can be so helpful to have members of the public who are in the woods regularly for work or recreation keeping an eye out and calling police right away if they see something out of the ordinary.
Many people wonder why we share a person's name, photograph and personal details when they're reported missing but remove all of that information once they are found. This is for privacy reasons. Once a person has been located, there's no need for the RCMP to share those details any further. We take this right to privacy very seriously, therefore you will always see that we remove any personal information from our news releases and social media once a missing person has been located.
A common misconception out there is that a person has to be missing for 24 hours before they can be reported missing to police. This is something that often appears in movies or television shows, and it couldn't be further from the truth. If you have serious concerns for the safety and wellbeing of a loved one and you don't know where they are, you can file a report with police immediately. In fact, the sooner we know someone is missing, the faster we can start our investigation and hopefully find them safely.
If you have concerns about a loved one's whereabouts, the first thing to do is contact your local police department. When you do, police will ask you for a recent photograph, a description of the person and details about their last known whereabouts. The more information you can provide, the better. Recent photographs that clearly shows the person's face and any that show other distinguishing characteristics such as tattoos can also greatly help in the investigation.
Once a person is reported missing, we will continue to investigate until they're found. It's not enough to have someone else tell us they've seen the person recently – our police officers have to directly confirm with the person reported missing that they're safe before we can close the file. If they don't want to tell the person who reported them missing where they are, they're under no obligation to do so as long as police can confirm they are safe.
You never want to think about having to deal with a loved one who is missing, but there are things every family can do to be prepared if it ever happens. This including keeping up-to-date information on close family members, such as current photographs, descriptions of their vehicles, licence plate numbers and personal descriptions. If you have loved ones who may be at higher risk, such as seniors living on their own, consider discussing technology such as cell phones or alert buttons with them to ensure they can be reached – and reach someone themselves - in the case of an emergency. Of course, prevention is always the best - stay in regular contact with family and friends, and be sure to tell someone if you're going to be away, or out of communication for a while.
Thank you again to all the New Brunswickers who help us locate missing people every day by sharing our posts on social media and calling their local police with important information – your assistance is invaluable and has helped to bring many people home safely.