- Posted by: Sanjeev
- 24 Jan, 2024
How to Locate Missing Person? A Check List for Skip Tracing Investigations
Of all the global cases of missing persons, India leads the race. Every year more than 3, 40,000 people go missing, which translates into a whopping 930 persons going missing per day. Statistics further say that 87% of those missing are adults and only 13% are children. Furthermore, more women go missing than men, Of all the people gone missing, half of them are ultimately traced, but the remaining half I.e. 1.7 lakh people never return to their loved ones. A valid question is why do people go missing and where do most missing people go? The loved ones of the missing people are the worst sufferers. Initially, they are almost always in disbelief, which turns into anxiety and the fear is ever-growing. Those left behind suffer from trauma and face difficulty in eating and sleeping. They run from pillar to post and go to police stations, courts, and other organizations, to trace their loved ones. The void left by a missing person is never filled and the family does not get any closure if the person is not traceable. So, missing person investigations or skip tracing are the major investigation services provided by any detective agency in India. Missing persons can broadly be categorized into two categories on who are wilful missing or escapist and unintentional missing.
A wilful missing person is an absconder and defector. Such persons are frauds, loan defaulters, love elopement, or fugitives of law. Sometimes any fear can also trigger a reaction to run away or flee. Often students who are not able to perform according to their teachers and parents run away. People who go missing deliberately are also found in large numbers. Other missing persons are those who do not run away intentionally and go missing due to circumstances. Such persons are small children, old and incapacitated, mentally challenged, kidnapped, abducted, accident and trauma victims, struck by some disaster, special children, deaf and dumb, or people suffering from diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Investigation in both circumstances is different. The approach of an investigator depends on the circumstances in which the person goes missing.
Private investigations in skip tracing/locating a person who has run away or absconded.
Private detectives have the resources and expertise to track down individuals and gather information that is valuable in locating such persons. There are clear guidelines on how to locate a runaway or absconder. Such people go off the radar suddenly and in major cities there are many such people and they usually run after taking a substantial amount of money from people. There are methods to track these fugitives. Private detectives sometimes work in cohesion with the police. In most such cases, people submit their grievances and complaints to police and law enforcement agencies. So the police can be a real asset. Police have easy access to phone call records, location, etc. of a person. Private detectives can effectively take the help of police to trace the location of a person and then mount surveillance. The past dossier and criminal records of these persons can be scrutinized to study their patterns. It can be seen where the person used to usually go and whom he used to meet regularly. There is a modus operandi of every person and that modus operandi has to be thoroughly studied by the private detective to strategies the plan of investigations. People who abscond may sometimes take their family along. Information about the rest of the family needs to be developed. It’s not easy to change the schools and colleges of school-going kids. So the information about the residence of the person can be determined by developing information about the other family members. Also, it is important to see the person's profession, as he is likely to continue in the same profession. Although the office of the person may change location. His habits and frequently visited places need to be studied as well. Surveillance has to be mounted on the places frequently visited. Advanced techniques have to be identified. Social media has also emerged as a good medium to give some clues about the investigations. A private investigator has to be innovative while locating fugitives.
It is locating a missing person with the help of private detectives.
This is a different investigation and the approach in these cases is completely different. The person going missing can be a victim of kidnapping or human trafficking too. In the case of a child, the situation becomes more alarming. The child could be run away, abandoned, kidnapped, and trafficked, or a sufferer of disaster or calamity. The child can fall victim to an organized crime syndicate that deals in child pornography or child prostitution. These are grave crimes and therefore the satisfaction of locating such children is immense. It is a pleasure for any private investigator if they can find such a child. In addition to children, the missing can be old and incapacitated, mentally challenged, kidnapped, abducted, accident and trauma victims, struck by some disaster, special child, deaf and dumb, or people suffering from diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's as discussed earlier.
On receiving a missing person case the private investigator should first do Psychological Profiling in Missing Person Cases and understand behavior patterns. In many cases, psychological profiling can give a good lead. There are people who or inclined to religion, they can escape to their places of interest. Such places can be ashrams, gurudwaras, etc. in some cases the temptation could be to meet the favorite film or cricket star. So the chances are that the person could visit that place.
In completely blind cases hue and cry notices need to be published. Advertisements should be given in leading newspapers and television. A local cable is also a good place for searching for a missing person. Wide publicity should be given on social media. In local areas and neighborhoods, posters should be posted. Places like railway stations and bus stands should be checked. Vigil should be mounted on people known to the missing person. Government websites like https://trackthemissingchild.gov.in/ and https://zipnet.delhipolice.gov.in/ should be searched regularly. Mortuaries, old age homes, adoption centers, and orphanages also have to be frequently checked. If suspicion is on organized criminals or human traffickers, then their activities should also be checked.
