Someone Is Missing: What to Do First

When Someone Goes Missing.......What to do next!

Guidance for families — the first hours, the first days, and the long stretch after
DO THIS FIRST: Report them missing right now. You do not have to wait 24 hours. Call 911 or your local sheriff's office. PRSAR, 24 hours: 941-548-7560

The 24-hour rule is a myth. Waiting costs searchable time and lets evidence disappear.
Have a recent, ordinary photo ready. Not a glamour shot — how they actually look day to day.
Say plainly why this is out of character. That one sentence is often what moves a report to an active investigation.
Start writing everything down. Get a notebook. Times, names, phone numbers, what was said. Start now — you will not remember later.

SOME PERSPECTIVE: Most missing person cases are resolved. In 2025, law enforcement entered roughly 498,000 missing person records into the FBI's National Crime Information Center. At the end of that year, about 88,000 records remained active nationwide — a figure that includes cases going back decades. The overwhelming majority of people reported missing are found.
That statistic will not comfort you today, and it is not meant to. It is here because the fear that grips families in the first hours — that this never gets resolved — is usually wrong. Keep working the steps below.

1. THE FIRST HOUR: Check the obvious places: their home, workplace, regular routes, hospitals, and shelters. Call their phone and leave a message. Send a text. Call their employer and ask coworkers when they were last seen and whether anything was said about travel or plans. Ask a neighbor to do a wellness check if you are not nearby — or ask the police in that area to perform one.
Write down every person you spoke to, their number, and what they told you.

Stop and call police. If the home shows any sign of forced entry, a struggle, or violence, do not go inside. Call the police from outside and wait.

If you do enter, touch as little as possible. Do not tidy, do not move anything, do not do the dishes. What looks like a mess to you may be evidence to an investigator. Open doors by the edge rather than gripping the knob. Then write down everything you touched and everything you noticed as out of place.
Preserve the digital trail — but do not chase it yourself. Most cases now turn on digital evidence, and it expires. Some of it is gone within days. Tell the responding officer about every one of these that might exist:

Location sharing already turned on — Find My, Google Maps location sharing, Life360, a smartwatch
Their Google or Apple account location history
Doorbell and security cameras at their home, and neighbors' cameras along the route
Bank card, ATM, and mobile payment activity
Rideshare and delivery app accounts
Vehicle telematics — OnStar, FordPass, Tesla, and similar
Social media accounts and recent messages
Toll transponder and license plate reader coverage on their likely route

Important. If you already have legitimate access to a shared family location app, check it and tell police what you see. But do not log into accounts that are not yours, reset their passwords, or ask a friend to "get into" their phone. It can destroy the record and render what you find unusable in court. Give investigators the account names and let them do it with a warrant or a preservation request — that is faster than you think, and it holds up.

2. FLORIDA'S FIVE ALERT PROGRAMS: Florida runs five public alert plans through the Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse (MEPIC). Families are often never told these exist.

AMBER Alert: A child under 18 who has been abducted and is believed to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

Missing Child Alert: A missing child whose case does not meet the abduction threshold for an AMBER Alert.

Spectrum Alert · NEW: A missing child with autism spectrum disorder. Established by the Legislature in 2025 and in service since July 1, 2026, in recognition of how often children with ASD wander and how quickly that turns dangerous near water. The first Spectrum Alert in Florida was issued within days of the program going live.

Purple Alert: A missing adult 18 or older with an intellectual or developmental disability, brain injury, or another physical, mental, or emotional disability — where it is NOT Alzheimer's or dementia — and the disappearance poses a credible threat of immediate danger.

Silver Alert: A missing person with irreversible deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as Alzheimer's or dementia. Generally 60 or older, or 18–59 where the person lacks capacity to consent.

How to use this. Only law enforcement can request an alert. You cannot request one yourself. What you can do is tell the responding officer which plan you believe your loved one qualifies for, and ask them directly to contact MEPIC. Officers do not always know the criteria for all five — particularly the Spectrum Alert, which is only months old. MEPIC: 1-888-356-4774 (1-888-FL MISSING). Report to your local agency first, then MEPIC.

3. WHAT TO TELL LAW ENFORCEMENT: Have this ready when the officer arrives. Write it down, if you can manage it.

Full name, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color
Identifying marks — tattoos, scars, birthmarks, a bald spot, dental work, medical implants
Glasses, braces, hearing aids, mobility aids
Jewelry they always wore. This matters — items get pawned, and pawn shops keep records
What they were last wearing, and what vehicle they may be in, with the plate number
When and where they were last seen, and by whom
A written list of friends, coworkers, and anyone in conflict with them, with contact information

Do not hold anything back. If your loved one has a mental health condition, has talked about ending their life, uses substances, takes medication they need to survive, or was in a frightening relationship — say so immediately. Families sometimes hide these facts out of shame or protectiveness. It is the single most common thing that slows down a search. It changes how urgently the case is worked on, where teams look first, and how quickly a Silver or Purple Alert can be issued. There is no judgment in it. It is information that helps us find them alive.

Ask for these specifically, and write down the answers

The case number, and the name and direct number of the assigned detective.
Entry into NCIC. For anyone under 21, entry into the FBI's National Crime Information Center is required and should happen immediately. For adults, ask that it be done anyway.
Entry into NamUs — see Section 5.
A BOLO to surrounding agencies, and whether a Florida alert plan applies.
Digital preservation requests to the phone carrier and to Google, Apple, Meta, and any other relevant provider. These are time-sensitive.

If you believe they were taken, ask the agency to process the home or vehicle for prints and forensic evidence, and say clearly why you believe it is warranted. You may be told it is unnecessary because family members have been through the space. Ask them to document the request and their decision in the report either way, and put your own request in writing by email so there is a record. Keep people out of the area until it is resolved.

Make copies before you hand anything over. Photos, letters, documents, devices — copy or photograph everything before it goes to investigators. Items can be held a long time, and sometimes they are not returned.
Working with detectives over the long run

Ask what the plan is and how you can help. Ask which other agencies are assisting.
Be persistent and be respectful. Both. Detectives carry heavy caseloads, and the family who is organized and reachable tends to get more attention than the family who calls hourly.
Be precise about what you know as fact versus what you suspect. Investigators build on facts; hunches presented as facts can send a search in the wrong direction for weeks.
Understand that they may not tell you everything. That is usually about protecting the case, not shutting you out.
Real investigations are nothing like television. They are slow, procedural, and mostly invisible from the outside.

If you are getting nowhere. Many agencies have no dedicated missing persons unit, and adult cases with no evidence of foul play often sit. If you are told to simply wait, politely ask for a supervisor, ask for the case to be reviewed, and bring any new information you have gathered. You are your missing person's advocate. Nobody else will do that job.

4. YOU WILL PROBABLY BE LOOKED AT. Once investigators treat a disappearance as suspicious, they start with the people closest to the missing person — spouse, partner, parents, adult children, close friends. That includes you.
This is not an accusation, nor a sign that they think you did something. It is a method. The people nearest a missing person hold the most information, and in cases that do turn out to involve harm, the answer is far more often someone known to them than a stranger. Investigators have to work outward from the center, clearing the people closest to it before they can move on.

It will still feel awful. Being interviewed at length, asked the same question six ways, or asked to take a polygraph is unsettling when your loved one is gone, and you are already frightened. Answer honestly, stay consistent, and understand that being cleared quickly is what lets the investigation move forward.
None of that means you have to face it unsupported. If the questioning turns accusatory or you feel out of your depth, you are entitled to consult a lawyer, and doing so is not an admission of anything.

5. NAMUS AND DNA — FREE, AND UNDERUSED. NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System run by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a national database of missing persons and unidentified remains. It is free, and families can create and view case records themselves.
NamUs also provides forensic services at no cost: DNA analysis, forensic odontology (dental comparison), fingerprint examination, forensic anthropology, and investigative genetic genealogy. Most families are never told any of this exists.
The family reference DNA sample: A DNA sample from a close relative can be compared against unidentified remains nationwide. First-degree relatives — a parent, full sibling, or child — are the most useful.

How it actually works. You cannot collect and mail this yourself. A family reference sample must be collected by law enforcement, a medical examiner, or other medicolegal personnel, with a signed consent form. Ask your detective to arrange it and to contact the NamUs regional program specialist. If they are unfamiliar with the process, NamUs staff will walk them through it. Family DNA is used only to search against unidentified persons. It is not run against criminal databases.

Also gather and get to investigators: dental records, medical records and X-rays, fingerprints if any exist on file, and personal items used only by your missing person — a toothbrush, hairbrush, razor, or unlaundered clothing. Bag these separately, handle them minimally, and give them to law enforcement rather than storing them yourself.

6. GETTING THE WORD OUT. The more people who know, the better. Coordinate with your detective first — occasionally there is an investigative reason to keep something quiet, and you want to know that before you publish.

Posters and flyers. Clear recent photo, name, age, height and weight, last seen date and location, what they were wearing, and the agency's phone number and case number. Put the police number on it, not your personal mobile.
One dedicated page. A single Facebook page or website for the search, run by one or two trusted people. Scattered posts across a dozen accounts create noise and bad tips.
Local media. Television and newspapers will often run a story, particularly in the first week and on anniversaries.
Ask for discounts. Local print shops frequently help at cost or free. It never hurts to ask.

Keep the tip line separate. Every tip should go to law enforcement, not to your phone. You will get cruel messages and scam calls — this is sadly predictable — and you should not be the one filtering them while you are trying to hold your family together. Designate one family spokesperson so information flows through a single point.

7. PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM EXPLOITATION Within days of a case becoming public, strangers will contact you. Most mean well. Some are working an angle. A grieving family with a fundraiser is a target, and we have watched too many families lose money and months to people who promised what they could not deliver.
Warning signs

Guarantees a result, or quotes an accuracy percentage for finding people
Asks for money, travel, or lodging up front before any written agreement
Wants a cut of reward money, or an exclusive contract
Cannot or will not give you references from law enforcement agencies you can call
Discourages you from involving police, or claims police are hiding something
Asks for banking details, account access, or your loved one's personal identifiers
Found you first — through the fundraiser, the news story, or the Facebook page
Pressures you to decide tonight
Questions worth asking anyone who offers help

Which law enforcement agencies have you worked with, and who can I call there?
What are your certifications, who issued them, and when do they expire?
Are you insured? May I see the certificate?
What exactly will this cost me, in writing, all in?
What will you give me at the end — a written report, coordinates, photographs?
Will you coordinate with my detective, and turn your findings over to them?

A legitimate organization will answer all six without hesitation. Ask us the same questions.
Private investigators: A good private investigator can genuinely help, particularly in a stalled adult case. Some will work for little or nothing. Others will want exclusive contracts and retainers. Verify the license with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, ask police for recommendations, check references, and get the scope and the cost in writing before you pay anything. Talk to your detective before you hire — a PI working at cross purposes to an active investigation can do real damage.
Fundraising: If you raise money, open a separate account for it and keep records of every dollar that comes in and goes out. Ask a bank, attorney, or accountant to help you set it up properly. This protects you and the people who gave.

8. MONEY, BILLS, AND LEGAL COSTS mount faster than families expect — fuel, printing, hotels, meals, time away from work. Keep receipts and track everything from day one.

Do not quit your job. Ask for reduced hours or leave instead. Most employers are more understanding than you fear, and you will need the income and the structure.
Get legal and financial advice early if your missing person is an adult. Mortgage, rent, car payments, utilities, insurance, and income all need a plan within about thirty days. Explain the situation — many attorneys will help pro bono or at reduced rates.
Do not write checks on their account or deposit their checks without first obtaining advice from a lawyer or accountant.
Get legal advice before signing any contract or posting a reward.
Ask a tax professional which of your search expenses may be deductible.
Churches, employers, unions, and community groups often help with practical things — meals, printing, childcare, fuel cards. Ask.
Make no irreversible decisions — selling a house, moving, ending a marriage — while you are in acute distress. Try to hold off on major changes for at least six months.

9. TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF. Ambiguous loss — grieving someone who is neither confirmed alive nor confirmed gone — is one of the hardest kinds of grief there is. There is no ceremony for it and no endpoint. Marriages, friendships, faith, and trust all get tested.

Keep two journals if you can. One for the search — steps taken, calls made, names. One for how you are actually doing. They serve different purposes, and you will want both later.
Eat and sleep. You cannot advocate for anyone on no sleep. Let someone else take a shift.
Do not isolate. Stay connected to friends and family even when you have nothing to say to them.
Keep some ordinary routine. Not because life goes on, but because structure is load-bearing right now.
Let yourself grieve even without confirmation. You have experienced a loss. Grieving it does not mean giving up on them.
Get professional support. A counselor, a minister, or a support group for families of the missing. Ask your detective or victim advocate for a referral — most agencies have one.
Watch for the coping that turns on you. Drinking, gambling, and drugs offer fast relief and take more than they give.

If you are struggling. If the weight of this becomes more than you can carry, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and staffed around the clock. Call or text 988. Reaching out is not weakness, and your family needs you here.
10. DO'S AND DON'TS. Guidance, not rules. What works in one case may not fit yours.
DO

Tell as many people as you can
Keep a detailed, dated log of everything
Report health conditions and risk factors immediately
Make copies before handing anything to investigators
Ask for regular updates, respectfully and persistently
Look carefully at what else is missing — clothing, luggage, medication, documents, cash
Check photos taken at home for possessions in the background that are now gone
Designate one family spokesperson
Verify anyone who offers help
Accept help with meals, childcare, and errands
Keep hoping for the truth

DON'T

Clean, tidy, or move anything
Wait 24 hours to report
Hide mental health, substance use, or relationship problems
Guess or speculate to investigators — say when you are unsure
Let others state rumors as fact on your behalf
Accuse anyone publicly, however certain you feel
Take it personally when you are questioned closely
Call investigators every few hours
Pay anyone before you have verified them and have it in writing
Search dangerous terrain or private property alone
Quit your job or make life-altering decisions right now
Give up

11. HOW PRSAR CAN HELP: Peace River K9 Search & Rescue Association, Inc. (PRSAR) is an all-volunteer Florida 501(c)(3). We never charge law enforcement or families for our services. We deploy trained K9 teams, mounted and ground searchers, drones, dive and water-recovery teams, and search-management support.
We work under the agency having jurisdiction. If your loved one's case is open with a police department or sheriff's office, ask your detective to request us — or call us, and we will make that contact ourselves. We do not enter a case without coordinating with the investigating agency, and we turn our findings over to them.
We can also help with search planning, provide poster and flyer support through our FAST team, and point you to the right resource when it is not us.

941-548-7560 • 24 hours, every day • www.prsar.org/requesting-assistance.html

Before it ever happens. If someone in your family has autism, dementia, or another condition that makes wandering a risk, look into Project Lifesaver and scent preservation kits now, while there is time. Both dramatically shorten a search. Details on our website.

12. RESOURCES

Report and search

FDLE — MEPIC · 1-888-356-4774 · fdle.state.fl.us/mepic Florida's clearinghouse for missing endangered persons. Issues all state alerts. Report to your local agency first.

NamUs · namus.nij.ojp.gov National database of missing and unidentified persons. Free forensic and DNA services. Families can create and manage case records.

NCMEC · 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) · missingkids.org National clearinghouse for missing children. 24-hour call center, poster distribution, age progression, family support.

A Child Is Missing · 1-888-875-2246 · achildismissing.org Rapid telephone alerts to the area a person was last seen. Requested by law enforcement. Florida-based.

Autism and wandering prevention

Project Lifesaver International · 1-877-580-LIFE (5433) · projectlifesaver.org Radio locating for people who wander due to autism, dementia, or a related condition. The person wears a wrist or ankle transmitter that trained teams can track. Enrollment is through the local member agency — call for a referral to the one serving your county.
National Autism Association — Big Red Safety Box · nationalautismassociation.org Free toolkit for families of a child who elopes: caregiver checklist, family wandering emergency plan, first-responder profile form, door and window alarms, and swimming-lesson tools. One per family, while supplies last.

Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) · florida-card.org. Seven state-funded, university-based centers serving all of Florida at no charge — training, behavior support, and referrals across the lifespan. Southwest Florida is served by CARD-USF. Use the map on their site to find your center.

Autism Society of Florida · 407-207-3388 or 866-ASFL-4-ME · autismfl.org. Statewide volunteer affiliate. Provides door alarms, water safety, CPR, and autism training for law enforcement, fire, 911 operators, and emergency room staff — including elopement and de-escalation. Their site has dedicated pages on wandering and drowning prevention.

Autism Society (national) · 800-3-AUTISM (800-328-8476) · autismsociety.org Information and referral helpline that connects families to services in their area. This is not a crisis line.

Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) · 1-866-273-2273 · apd.myflorida.com. State agency for developmental disability services, including the iBudget waiver. Local office numbers are on their site.

Florida Spectrum Alert — free sign-up · fdle.state.fl.us/mepic Register to receive Spectrum Alerts by text or email when a child with autism goes missing near you. See Section 2 for how the alert works.

Advocacy and family support

Black & Missing Foundation · 1-877-97-BAMFI · blackandmissinginc.com Advocacy and media support for missing persons of color, who consistently receive less coverage and slower response.

CUE Center for Missing Persons · (910) 232-1687 · ncmissingpersons.org 24-hour line. Advocacy, free trained search personnel, and victim support since 1994.

Texas EquuSearch · (281) 309-9500 · texasequusearch.org Volunteer search and recovery, nationwide when resources allow. Never charges families or agencies.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline · 988 · 988lifeline.org Free and confidential, 24 hours, by call or text. For you, or for anyone in your family who is struggling.

Unidentified remains and identification

The Doe Network · doenetwork.org All-volunteer organization working cold cases of missing and unidentified persons.

DNA Doe Project · dnadoeproject.org Investigative genetic genealogy to identify unidentified remains, working with agencies and medical examiners.

Intermountain Forensics · intermountainforensics.com Nonprofit funding investigative genetic genealogy on cold cases; helps agencies cover the cost of DNA work.

Reviewed and updated August 2026. Statistics from the FBI's 2025 NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics; alert criteria from FDLE. Verify phone numbers and criteria before relying on them — programs change.