Website of the UK government

What to do if you think someone has gone missing

You can contact your local police station straight away if you are concerned that someone has gone missing. It's a good idea, however, to make your own enquiries first. Contact anyone who you think might know the whereabouts of the missing person before you go to the police.

• Find a police force, neighbourhood policing team or police authority

What the police will do when you report someone as missing

When you report someone as missing, the police will take a report from you. The police may require information from you like:

• photos of the missing person
• details of events that may have led to their disappearance
• places the missing person is known to have visited
• details of other friends or relatives

The report will be used to flag up the person as missing on the Police National Computer. This means information about the missing person will be available to all police forces across the UK within 48 hours.

Other sources of help to find missing people

Several charities also provide help to find missing adults and children.

Missing People

The charity Missing People helps and supports missing children and adults by providing:

• Missing People, a 24-hour Freefone help line offering advice and support for families and friends of missing people
• Runaway Helpline, a 24-hour Freefone and text service, for anyone who has run away from home or care, or been forced to leave home
• the ‘Message Home’ service that allows anyone who has gone missing to send a message to family or friends

Missing People also produces and circulates posters of missing people and generates publicity by making appeals through the internet, TV, newspapers and magazines.

• Missing People website Opens new window

Missing Kids

The Missing Kids website provides advice to parents and contains a searchable database of missing children. Each record includes posters with photos, a description of the child and details of when they were last seen. These posters can be downloaded and printed from the website.

Only the police are able to add new cases to the site. If you would like your child to be included in the database, you will need to report them as missing to the police. The police officer dealing with your case will be able to advise whether using Missing Kids is right for your case.

• Missing Kids Opens new window

There are other charities that specialise in supporting families of children who have gone missing and publicising cases, these include:

• Forever Searching
• Railway Children
• Reunite

• Forever Searching Opens new window

• Railway Children Opens new window

• Reunite Opens new window

People missing abroad – what to do

If you are worried about a relative or friend who has gone missing abroad, contact your local police force. Your local police force will liaise with the relevant foreign police through Interpol. Interpol is an international police organisation, which operates in more than 187 countries around the world. You should also contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 020 7008 1500 and ask for the Consular Directorate.

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice on missing persons Opens new window

Child abduction

If your child has been abducted overseas, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can provide advice on what to do and who to contact. ‘International child abduction’ outlines what the FCO can do to help.

• International child abduction (crime, justice and the law section)

‘Passport applications and child abductions’ explains how the Identity and Passport Service can help by blocking applications for child passports.

• Passport applications and child abductions (travel and transport section)

What happens when a missing person is found

Sometimes people who go missing don’t want to get back in touch with friends and relatives when they are found. If the police find the missing person, they won’t pass on any information they have about their whereabouts without the person’s permission.  However, the police will let you know the person is safe and well.

If the missing person is vulnerable, eg because of poor health or age, the police may decide to contact family and friends, health or social services. If the missing person is under 18, the parent or guardian will always be notified if they are found.

Getting back in touch

If you think you have been reported missing and would like to get back in touch, visit your local police station. Take some proof of your identity, like a passport or driving licence.

If you would rather not contact the police, the charity Missing People can contact the police anonymously on your behalf.

• Missing People Message Home service
  Opens new window

Reporting a sighting of a missing person

If you think you have seen a missing person, give details of where and when you saw them to the police. If you would prefer to report a sighting without giving your personal details, you can contact Missing People on 0500 700 700 or use their website.

• Report a sighting of a missing person Opens new window

More useful links

• Running away from home and missing people (young people section)

• Look for them website Opens new window

• Missing you website Opens new window