The idea of losing a child, friend, or family member is a deep-rooted fear of many Americans… and with good reason. Over 90,000 people are missing at any given time in the U.S. and more than 600,000 people total are on that list annually. As scary as it is, they don’t always make it home safe and sound to their loved ones. Fortunately, performing your own local investigations can be an effective way to get a head start on finding a missing person in your life.
Scan Their Social Media
In this time of social distancing, social media is an absolute must for maintaining connections to friends, loved ones, and even co-workers and educators. Facebook is still the top dog with approximately 2.5 million active monthly users. Chances are you’re connected to some of the same people and those digital pathways can go a long way in just a few clicks. Scan their social media accounts to check on recent posts, interactions, and any ideas of where they may have gone, whether on their own or with specific contacts.
Notify the Police
As soon as you’re aware that someone’s truly missing, notify your local police. Time restrictions on cop shows and Hollywood blockbusters don’t apply to the real world. The police can get the information across digital pathways to cover the entire state and even cross state lines before you can finish asking your neighbors if they’ve seen the person. This is especially true when children are involved. Time is of the essence so act quickly.
Contact Family and Friends
If you know the missing person’s cell phone number, keep calling them. Signal range can interfere with communication for hours or days. A missing person can actually be just someone who doesn’t want to be found for a while. But don’t stop there. Also reach out to the person’s family and friends, coworkers, neighbors, roommates, and anyone else they’re in contact with on a regular basis. Someone may have heard something and simply has no way of reaching you.
Check Their Financial Records
If you have access to the missing person’s bills, bank records, and credit card statements, go over them carefully. Call the businesses, provide the account numbers, and inquire about recent activity. If any transactions have been made, there will be a digital trail.
Put In Some Footwork
Don’t ignore local areas of interest or places the missing person liked to go. Walk around their neighborhood, put up flyers so neighbors know to look out for them, and drive around to their favorite businesses, clubs, bars, restaurants, shopping centers, gyms, etc. If you do go the flyer route, just make sure you include a police contact number to avoid an onslaught of well-wishers or spam calls.
Call In the Pros
Michigan has an average of nearly 6 missing persons for every 100,000 residents which makes Michigan rank within the top 20 missing person states nationwide. The first 72 hours of any missing persons case is the most crucial for safely finding the individual. But police departments are overworked and prioritize situations on a case-by-case basis. In other words, you simply may not get the response and answers you want and need unless you think outside the box or hire someone else to do that for you. The right Michigan private investigator can help you do just that legally and on your time frame. Give us a call when you need help with your local investigations.
