Why isn't more done to help find missng people?

Molly BloomMolly Bloom Posts: 2,318
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The missing child who we can't talk about on here was in the papers AGAIN yesterday and every time it just makes me wonder why other missing people are treated like nothing in comparison?

I know a lot of it will have to do with resources. I'm sure we simply don't have enough to dedicate time and money to searching properly for the missing, but whenever one person is picked to be a poster child/person and gets ALL of the time, focus, and publicity it just seems wrong.

To spark any media interest whatsoever, it seems a missing person has to be a young, attractive, successful and popular person...and no one else matters. I know in part this is because there is a higher likelihood of foul play involved in their disappearance but the way everyone else is tossed aside in favour of this one type makes my blood boil to be honest.
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,916
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    Anyone know if they found that Asian girl who was on the front page of the BBC website for a few days this week?
  • AnitaSAnitaS Posts: 4,079
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    I think it's sad the way some people go missing, and despite every effort by their families and friends, the media isn't interested. I still wonder what happened to the middle-aged mum from Nottingham, Elaine Harrison.
  • PrimalIcePrimalIce Posts: 2,897
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    The missing child who we can't talk about on here was in the papers AGAIN yesterday and every time it just makes me wonder why other missing people are treated like nothing in comparison?

    As a general rule of thumb it all depends on how many of the following boxes you tick:

    -Girl
    -Pretty
    -Blonde
    -Rich
    -White

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome
  • CroctacusCroctacus Posts: 18,216
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    Some people arent missing though, they have haven't told their families where they are.
  • Molly BloomMolly Bloom Posts: 2,318
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    AnitaS wrote: »
    I think it's sad the way some people go missing, and despite every effort by their families and friends, the media isn't interested. I still wonder what happened to the middle-aged mum from Nottingham, Elaine Harrison.

    I first heard of Elaine Harrison's case yesterday - via Twitter - despite the fact she's been missing since just before Christmas. I suppose because she's middle-aged the mainstream media just don't care. >:(
  • d0lphind0lphin Posts: 25,327
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    This same thread crops up from time to time; and I say this each time. The vast majority of missing children are teenagers who run away or children abducted by an absent parent. There have been no other young children that have been missing apart from April Jones whose body will obviously never be found. Please feel free to cirrect me if this isn;t the case.

    With regards to adults, when suspicious circumstances are supected there is publicity. Therefore, if a case isn't publicised, the police must suspect them leaving of their own free will or have a reasonable idea of why they are missing.
  • tiacattiacat Posts: 22,521
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    d0lphin wrote: »
    This same thread crops up from time to time; and I say this each time. The vast majority of missing children are teenagers who run away or children abducted by an absent parent. There have been no other young children that have been missing apart from April Jones whose body will obviously never be found. Please feel free to cirrect me if this isn;t the case.

    With regards to adults, when suspicious circumstances are supected there is publicity. Therefore, if a case isn't publicised, the police must suspect them leaving of their own free will or have a reasonable idea of why they are missing.

    Are you suggesting that they are not therefore 'missing'?

    I might have misunderstood what you mean there, if we dont know where they are, they are missing are they not?

    I think the issue of missing people, whether they are children or adults is very difficult. As someone said above, there are people that go off and just dont want to let anyone know where they are and I always wonder how they manage after that, where do they live, what do they live on, how do they manage their phone and emails etc. What about their job?
  • FrightfulBoarFrightfulBoar Posts: 885
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    There's got to be some cut-off.

    You can't just keep looking forever. All police time would be taken up by missing people if that were the case.

    And yeah, let's face it, some people are more interesting than others. Sad, but true.
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    tiacat wrote: »
    I think the issue of missing people, whether they are children or adults is very difficult. As someone said above, there are people that go off and just dont want to let anyone know where they are and I always wonder how they manage after that, where do they live, what do they live on, how do they manage their phone and emails etc. What about their job?

    You can change your name and stuff and just start over with everything

    Your old phone and email ect you just forget about I suppose you have to rent a house as it's likely would would have enough cash to buy one and just take whatever job you can get.
  • asp746asp746 Posts: 7,286
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    I don't know why people who decide to go missing cant be traced via their national insurance number. are you allowed to apply for a new one and if so would there not be a trail so the police could check it out. people can go missing if they want but I guess it should be ok for those left behind to be able to see if their NI number is still active for benefit or wage payments. They deserve that much for peace of mind at least?
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    asp746 wrote: »
    I don't know why people who decide to go missing cant be traced via their national insurance number. are you allowed to apply for a new one and if so would there not be a trail so the police could check it out. people can go missing if they want but I guess it should be ok for those left behind to be able to see if their NI number is still active for benefit or wage payments. They deserve that much for peace of mind at least?

    What if you have gone missing to get away from them because they are abusive ect

    When my Mum left my Dad he reported her missing even though he knew why she left.
  • tiacattiacat Posts: 22,521
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    You can change your name and stuff and just start over with everything

    Your old phone and email ect you just forget about I suppose you have to rent a house as it's likely would would have enough cash to buy one and just take whatever job you can get.

    How, when everything we do in life needs proof of id, NINO, bank statements etc etc
  • ArcanaArcana Posts: 37,521
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    There's an excellent (American) series called Disappeared about people who go missing. Dramatised obviously but makes extensive use of interviews with the people involved including the law enforcement perspective.

    Worth watching if you're interested in the phenomenon. I think it's easy to be deceived by how this type of case is often portrayed in TV dramas or films.
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    tiacat wrote: »
    How, when everything we do in life needs proof of id, NINO, bank statements etc etc

    As I said you just start over when I moved I left with nothing not even my Birth Certificate but I soon got everything sorted out and restarted under a new name.
  • muggins14muggins14 Posts: 61,844
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    With adults is it not the case that they have a right not to be found? If you are not a child then, as somebody said above, some people just want to disappear! It's not against the law to leave. I'm sure many of us have daydreamed about walking away from our lives, although most don't, some people do go ahead and do it. "Sometimes the adults who go missing may wish for their location to remain anonymous, and they do have that right which we must respect. We will always tell you if this is the case." From the Met Police website

    Of course, not every missing adult is somebody who has done this, people go missing because of foul-play, illness, I'm sure there must be other reasons, and obviously police do their best to find people. If it were as simple as locating a person through their NI number, there wouldn't be so many missing people.

    With minors, it's a completely different ball-game, of course.

    http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/sep/16/campaign-unlock-secrets-missing-persons

    Interesting article.
  • djfunnymandjfunnyman Posts: 12,518
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    AnitaS wrote: »
    I think it's sad the way some people go missing, and despite every effort by their families and friends, the media isn't interested. I still wonder what happened to the middle-aged mum from Nottingham, Elaine Harrison.

    As a Nottingham resident, I will point out that there are lots of Elaine Harrison posters in the city
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    It seems to only be the ones who make the news that get concentrated on. There must be goodness knows how many missing people out there.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 32,379
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    Anyone know if they found that Asian girl who was on the front page of the BBC website for a few days this week?

    Don't think so, her sister made an appeal yesterday.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25594535
  • Ethel_FredEthel_Fred Posts: 34,127
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    It's not a crime.
  • DisturbedDisturbed Posts: 306
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    Sometimes people just give up and decide to play things out by whatever means possible, the most hilarious I find are the adults who wander off into the countryside/forests wanting to get away from the rat-race for however long. The families get worried and send out SAR teams to scower the area and drag the person back home to the same old routines, bills, stress, that they were getting away from.

    Its almost as if people aren't entitled to their own privacy anymore, everything we do has to be logged, catalogued, and recorded.
  • MaxatoriaMaxatoria Posts: 17,980
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    One of the reasons quite often not much is said is that teens quite often return after a few days when their moneys ran out and they're starving and wet and decide its not worth it and making too much of a fuss could lead to them feeling like they're being chased and thus will go further/take more risks than just spending a couple of nights kipping in the next towns bus station

    A lot of those that do make it on TV are younger or have problems meaning that they're more likely to fall foul of predators so the police make the call to risk publicity to speed things up
  • culturemancultureman Posts: 11,700
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    woodbush wrote: »
    Don't think so, her sister made an appeal yesterday.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25594535

    Odd that although her medication mentioned (which from its description I doubt is urgently needed) but not her phone status.

    Note that the two sisters have different surnames.
  • d0lphind0lphin Posts: 25,327
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    tiacat wrote: »
    Are you suggesting that they are not therefore 'missing'?

    I might have misunderstood what you mean there, if we dont know where they are, they are missing are they not?

    I think the issue of missing people, whether they are children or adults is very difficult. As someone said above, there are people that go off and just dont want to let anyone know where they are and I always wonder how they manage after that, where do they live, what do they live on, how do they manage their phone and emails etc. What about their job?


    Sorry [delayed response due to going shopping!] I meant they are runaways who tend to come back within a few days.

    Obviously that's not always the case and I would agree that there isn't always much publicity about them. However, if the police suspect somehting sinister (e.g. the teenager that went to France with her teacher) then there is the publicity.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 870
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    Do you remember than little baby boy that went missing in southall. He was in his dads car while his dad popped into the bank. This was about 20 years ago.
  • Evo102Evo102 Posts: 13,630
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    d0lphin wrote: »
    This same thread crops up from time to time; and I say this each time. The vast majority of missing children are teenagers who run away or children abducted by an absent parent. There have been no other young children that have been missing apart from April Jones whose body will obviously never be found. Please feel free to cirrect me if this isn;t the case.

    Well just local to me I can think of David Spencer (13) and Patrick Warren (11) who have been missing since 1996 from their homes in Chelmsley Wood. Unfortunately, they don't/didn't have middle class doctors for parents.

    http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/special-report-chelmsley-wood-families-167564
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