Missing.

“People go missing for a wide variety of reasons, which makes providing a single, concise definition of a
‘missing person’ or what it is to ‘go missing’ very difficult. Despite the problems in providing a
definition that covers such a wide range of contexts and situations, the following definitions have been
proposed by various organisations and academics:
•
‘A break in contact which either the missing person or someone else defines as going
missing, and which may be either intentional or unintentional.’ (Biehal, Mitchell and Wade, 2003: 2)
•
‘…a social situation in which a person is absent from their accustomed network of social and
personal relationships to the extent that people within that network define the absence as
interfering with the performance by that person of expected social responsibilities, leading
to a situation in which members of the network feel obliged to search for the missing person
and may institute official procedures to identify the person as missing.’ (Payne, 1995: 335)
•
‘Anyone whose whereabouts is unknown whatever the circumstances of
disappearance.  They will be considered missing until located and their well-being or
otherwise established.’(ACPO, 2005: 8)”

© 2013 Missing People – Registered Charity No. 1020419