The issue of missing people is a broad topic that covers everything from runaways to missing and murdered Aboriginal people. This year, May 3-9 was proclaimed Missing Persons Week by the provincial government, during which the focus was on community’s response to missing persons.
One of the goals was not just to educate the public on how to respond in such a situation, but also to show people how police and organizations work in those cases.
According to Bettyann Pottruff, children’s counsellor with the Ministry of Justice, the vast majority of missing people are runaways under 18. Almost all of them are found within 48 hours.
“And then there’s another category, which are fishing and hunting accidents or people getting lost in the wilderness,” she said. “Then there’s a situation where there’s foul play; someone is abducted or something else occurs.”
To educate the public and support the week, the Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons (PPCMP) created a fictional missing persons case that people could follow via Twitter. The project highlighted how police, organizations, and communities respond to a missing persons case from the moment a report is made to the moment it’s resolved. The week has also been trying to promote awareness of preventative measures people can take, such as informing someone whenever you go out somewhere.
“I think it’s been very positive, the number of events put on across the organization by various organizations,” said Pottruff. “If you go onto the (Saskatchewan Missing Persons website), there’s a profile about missing persons and what you can do when someone goes missing.”
The website, which is part of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP), provides people with a Missing Persons Checklist and a link to help navigate the process. It also contains all the pictures and information of all the long-term missing people in the province.
According to Pottruff, the first step would be to call the police. Unlike what many Hollywood movies have suggested, there is no minimum time people have to wait before calling the police to make a report. Once a report is filed, the police will track any and all leads.
“Try and support the police investigation by providing information. They’ll want a picture, know the last place the person was seen, who are some of their friends, where did they bank, etc.,” said Pottruff. “The case is (always) ongoing. If they have any information or learn anything new, they need to communicate that to the police … it may seem small, but it could be vital.”
The police will talk to family, friends, neighbours, coworkers, etc. and filling out information such as where they went missing and what car they were driving at the time. Leads can get cold as more time passes, which is why the first 48 hours are so crucial, but Pottruff said they never close a case. It remains open until the person is found.
Aside from runaways and accidents, Pottruff said there are also people with medical conditions such as dementia. They might become lost or confused and are unsure how to return home. That’s why she says that if you see someone wandering around looking lost, ask if they’re okay because it might be someone suffering dementia who needs help.
The last category is people who go missing voluntarily. These might be people who want to escape for whatever reason.
“The police will keep looking for the person (even if they suspect it was voluntary) because of course you don’t really know for sure until you find the person, then they check with that person,” said Pottruff. “If the person makes the decision (that they want to stay missing), the police will respect their wishes as long as they can tell the family that they’ve found the person and he/she is okay.”
(Of course, that kind of situation would only be acceptable if the person were over 18.)
Possibly the most difficult thing about any situation like this is the common lack of resolution. Regardless of who it is or what the reason may be, any time a person goes missing is hard on the family because they don’t know what happened to him/her and if he/she is even alive or dead.
“It’s a very difficult transition. Obviously the first few days, weeks, and months, the family and friends are in crisis. They have hope that the person will be found okay and they have fear. It can consume people,” said Pottruff. “As time goes on, it becomes more difficult in a way because they don’t want to give up hope, but on the other hand, they fear the outcome even more.”
Some might find it easier to accept the worst case scenario and move on while others choose to cling to the diminishing hope that their loved one is alive even though years have passed.
“Sometimes, people might move on faster and assume that the person is not coming back while other family members are not moving on, so there’s tension, what should they do? It’s an ambiguous loss, a real roller coaster,” she said. “It’s not like when people suffer tragedy and someone dies, because you don’t know the outcome so you can’t fully grieve. You feel guilty because the person may not be deceased and you don’t want to give up hope.”
The police understand the difficulty these families have so there is an expectation on their part that they’ll maintain regular contact. They’ll ask the families to choose one person as the contact to funnel information back and forth. Periodically, the police will contact that person to let him/her know that the case is still open and there are or aren’t any new leads.
“The case is never closed; we’re always hoping there’s a new clue to lead to a resolution,” said Pottruff. “You can never say never because you don’t know what happened to them.”
