In last week’s article, we discussed the key differences between finding a missing person and locating a person. At PATRIOT Backgrounds and Investigations, clients contact us to assist with finding a lost or missing loved one. It’s important to know the difference between these two terms, as they are handled using different approaches. If you want to find a lost person, you can look them up online via public records or on social media. However, if you have a missing person case, this should be left to law enforcement or private investigators (or both). Keep reading to learn how private investigators handle missing person cases.
Private Investigative Approach to Missing Person Cases
Unlike locating a person, a missing person case is a complex and delicate situation. It’s recommended that you hire a private investigator, rather than trying to find a missing person on your own. When a person is missing, this requires a professional to investigate their reason for going missing and any valuable information that can help find them as quickly as possible.
PIs Need to Find Out:
- Did this person leave under suspicious circumstances?
- Did they want to leave?
- Or is there a cause that led them to suddenly leave?
Regardless of the reason for leaving, licensed private investigators have the skills, resources, and knowledge to solve missing person cases. Indeed, some people that are missing leave on their own freewill. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as struggling with mental illnesses or drug abuse. By finding out as much information as possible from clients, this can help PIs determine what led the person to go missing. This valuable information can help private investigators find the missing person.
PIs Need to Gather:
- As much information as possible about the missing person.
- Why they have gone missing.
- Events that led to their disappearance.
To ensure the safety and well-being of the missing person, PIs will contact local hospitals, medical facilities, or morgues to determine if they are injured or have died. PIs will also contact local police departments to see if the person has been arrested. Indeed, it’s possible that one of these scenarios is why a person is missing, rather than them disappearing.
Conducing Interviews
After gathering key information, the next step is to conduct detailed interviews.
PIs May Interview:
- Family members, friends, co-workers, or roommates
- Regularly visited places (i.e. school, work, stores, gyms, etc.)
- Activities they enjoy (i.e. sports or dog walking)
By interviewing a wide range of relevant parties, this provides a variety of information to help find a missing person. PIs can check the missing person’s social media accounts, but they are only useful if they actively used these platforms. Indeed, if they were posting content on social media daily and then suddenly stopped when they went missing, this change in social media usage can be used to help find clues.
As for adults that go missing and are of sound mind, they have every right to disappear if they want. However, this is a hard blow for loved ones to take as they worry about their loved one. Are they safe? Are they happy? Private investigators can help you find these essential questions.
Canvassing
Canvassing is an investigative approach, in which a PI visits the places that a missing person frequents. This approach reveals useful information, new leads, and clues that help investigators get closer to solving a missing person case. In today’s digital age, security cameras are everywhere from people’s homes to businesses. Indeed, there may be recent camera footage with the missing person, which can provide additional information about where they were heading, when it happened, with who, and why.
Police Assistance
Depending on the case, the police may also be working on a missing person case too. This can provide essential police contacts and informants that may have vital information necessary to the case. While police departments struggle with an overload of cases and not enough manpower, private investigators play a key role in dedicating their time and energy into solving missing person cases, among their other services offered.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s article and that it helped you understand the thorough process that private investigators undergo to find missing people. If you have a loved one that is missing, it is a worthy investment to hire an expert private investigator that will use their skills, resources, and connections to help find your loved one as quickly as possible. Contact PATRIOT Backgrounds and Investigations today to learn how we can help you.
