Someone is Missing - You are not Alone

Chapter 1. You Are Not Alone

1.1. How Many People Go Missing?

It is hard to believe that in a well-developed and populated country like Australia about 30,000 people go missing every year . Among them, about 7,500 go missing in New South Wales alone. In fact, in Australia the rate of missing persons is as high, or higher, than that of road traffic accident deaths, non-fatal road traffic accidents requiring hospitalisation, and suicide.

While the high number of missing persons is significant it is equally disturbing to learn that for every missing person about 12 people are affected. This includes family members, friends, work colleagues, and community members. “Therefore, in any one-year in Australia, 360,000 people feel the effect of the missing persons phenomenon” .

This large number means that having a loved one who is missing affects people from all walks of life – regardless of their age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and educational or professional qualifications .

The good news however, is that most missing persons are found. In fact, about 99.5% are located, often within a month from the time of disappearance . Typically, the missing person is found because they return home or contact family members and friends.

Yet, this good news rarely compensates for the devastating effects on the family members and friends of missing persons. Although they come from varied backgrounds these individuals share some similar experiences. With news that a loved one is missing they often experience sadness, grief, stress, and worry; and these experiences can continue for extended periods.

Understandably, many want to know the whereabouts of their loved one and what led to their disappearance. There are no clear answers to these questions. However, it may help to look at the work of researchers who have explored the area. Although there is little research available, the work of Henderson and Henderson is worth looking at for these authors conducted a study on missing persons in Australia.

1.2. The ‘Missing’ Population in Australia

Henderson and Henderson paint a useful picture of missing persons. Their research suggests that men and women are reported missing almost equally. However, children and young people are reported missing more often than adults are.

An examination of other characteristics suggests that missing persons come from very different backgrounds (see Appendix One for further details). However, among those included in the National Missing Persons Unit:

Most were born in Australia (86%)
A number of them lived in a city or its suburbs (78%)
Many were single (87%)
A majority lived in their parents’ home (66%)
A large proportion was comprised of students (60%)

It is interesting that over one third of the missing persons in this study had gone missing before (34%).

Henderson and Henderson also suggest that the circumstances surrounding each disappearance are as varied as the population who actually go missing (see Appendix Two for further details). Despite this variety, the study suggests that most missing persons were last seen in their own home during the morning of a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Family members and friends of missing persons often want to know why their loved one has disappeared. There seems to be wide variety in the reasons believed by family members and friends, as well as the reasons offered by missing persons themselves (see Appendix Three for further details).

Despite this diversity, the disappearance of a loved may be either voluntary or involuntary. That is, the individual either chose to go missing, or did not choose to go missing. It can be difficult to understand why someone might choose to go missing, particularly in light of the heartache and anguish it can cause family members and friends. Yet, it is important to remember that choosing to go missing is not a crime. Often there are valid reasons surrounding the voluntary disappearance of an individual, even though we may not always agree with them.

The National Missing Person’s Unit found that most of the missing persons in their study went missing because of “conflict about authority, rules, or independent behaviour”. Interestingly, before these missing persons were found many of their family members and friends suspected that they had gone missing because of this very reason.

Most missing persons are located within a relatively short period. However, the disappearance of the missing person can be quite traumatic on their family members and friends – no matter how brief their absence.

The effects on family members and friends are numerous and quite varied:

“Regardless of the characteristics of the missing person or the circumstances under which the person goes missing, there are impacts on families and friends, including health consequences, direct financial costs incurred, days lost from work or business, impacts on relationships and on routine activities and quality of life” .

The next chapter explores some of these effects in further detail.