Private Investigations on Missing Persons 101

The good news is that some studies have shown that up to 98% of missing persons are found safe within a year.

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database, about 100,000 Americans are missing at any given time. The NamUS database also suggests that upwards of 600,000 people go missing every year in this country. This works out to be approximately 6.5 missing people for every 100,000 Americans.

If you ever have a loved one go missing, you should contact local police right away and file a report. Law enforcement might be able to track down your family member and return them home safely. But because so many Americans go missing annually, the nation’s police officers are usually inundated with reports regarding missing persons and aren’t always able to conduct successful searches for them.

This is where private investigators can step in and help. They can launch in-depth investigations and use cutting-edge techniques, such as skip tracing, to take the search for missing Americans to the next level. Get a comprehensive lesson about private investigations on missing persons 101 below.

When Should You Call a Private Investigator to Start a Missing Person Investigation?

Once you alert local police about a missing person, you might be tempted to give them time to launch an investigation and see if they can find your loved one. But it’s worth noting that the first 72 hours after a person goes missing are extremely important in many missing persons cases. For this reason, you should let the police know about a missing loved one and consider calling a private investigator for assistance at the same time.

In a best-case scenario, local police will uncover your loved one’s whereabouts, and you can let a private investigator know that you don’t need their services after all. You might incur a small cost by taking this approach, but it’s a better option than waiting until a loved one has been missing for a few days to get in touch with a private investigator. Doing this could derail their missing persons investigation from the start and make it more challenging for them to locate your loved one than it might be otherwise.

How Can a Private Investigator Help You with a Missing Person Investigation?

Local police will typically provide at least some assistance when you report a loved one missing. They might, for example, visit the places your loved one is known to frequent to check for signs of them. Depending on the situation, they might also advise those in your community about your missing loved one and ask the public to give them a call if they can provide any tips.

But generally speaking, local police aren’t always going to pull out all the stops when it comes to searching for missing persons. They might be especially hesitant to do it if your loved one has a history of going missing or if their initial investigation leads them to believe that your loved one might have disappeared on purpose and doesn’t necessarily want to be found.

A private investigator, on the other hand, can fully commit to searching for a missing person. They can conduct a more thorough investigation while looking for your loved one. They’ll work hard on your behalf to find any breadcrumbs that your loved one may have left behind just before going missing. They’ll also employ proven strategies like skip tracing to get to the bottom of where your loved one has gone.

How Does Skip Tracing Work During a Missing Person Investigation?

Skip tracing is a process that involves finding a person who has gone missing by almost any means necessary. The top private investigators in the country utilize skip tracing during their missing person investigations to greatly improve their chances of unveiling where a person has disappeared. Skip tracing can be used to locate those who have gone missing without any explanation as well as those who have run off in the hopes of sidestepping legal, debt, and personal problems.

Here are the steps often associated with skip tracing:

• Information gathering: A private investigator begins by collecting as much information as they possibly can about a missing person.
• Data mining: A PI uses public records, social media, credit reports, job applications, and any other information they can find to discover more about a missing person.
• Analysis and verification: A PI analyzes all the information they’ve gathered and cross-references it with different sources to ensure it’s as accurate as possible.
• Contact attempts: A PI starts trying to contact a missing person based on the information they’ve collected. They’ll usually use phone calls, emails, and even face-to-face visits to hone in on where a missing person might be located.

What Can You Do to Help with Skip Tracing During a Missing Person Investigation?

A private investigator can do most of the heavy lifting during a missing person investigation. However, you can assist them at the beginning of their search for a missing person by providing them with key information.

Here are examples of the kinds of information you can give to a private investigator to get their missing person search off to a strong start:

• A missing person’s full name along with any aliases they’ve been known to use
• A recent photo of a missing person
• A detailed description of a missing person
• Any unique identifying marks that a missing person might have
• Links to a missing person’s social media pages
• Information on any mental health conditions or substance abuse issues a missing person might have
• A missing person’s complete criminal history

The more information you give to a private investigator, the easier it will be for them to start looking for your loved one in the right places.

How Long Does a Missing Person Investigation Take?

Unfortunately, there is no telling how long a missing person investigation might take. Many of these investigations are over within a matter of just days, but others drag out for months and sometimes even years on end.

The length of your loved one’s missing person investigation can depend on:

• How far a person has traveled since going missing
• How committed a missing person is to not being found
• How much information is available about a missing person
• How cooperative those close to a missing person are
• How hard a private investigator works to find a missing person

Are Missing Persons Investigations Always Successful?

The good news is that some studies have shown that up to 98% of missing persons are found safe within a year. The vast majority of those who go missing turn up at some point. But sadly, this isn’t always the case, as some missing persons remain missing for years to come and others aren’t ever found.

We should also point out that just because a missing person is found doesn’t mean they’ll willingly go home or live up to the financial or legal obligations they’re trying to run from. A private investigator can’t force the people they find to return back to their loved ones or contact others who might be looking for them, but they can provide all the information they’ve been able to unearth about a person throughout the process of trying to track them down.

Who Should You Trust to Perform a Missing Persons Investigation?

If you need to hire a private investigator, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one who can assist you with a missing person investigation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost 35,000 PIs work throughout the country at this time. This does not, however, mean that you should simply Google “private investigator near me” and hire the first PI you can find in your area.

Instead, look high and low for the best local private investigator. The right option will have a wealth of PI experience, a large network they can rely on for help throughout their missing person search, a variety of skip-tracing tools, and, maybe above all else, a stellar reputation among those in your community that have trusted them for their PI services. You’ll know you’re in great hands when you work with a private investigator who checks each of these boxes.

Start Searching for a Loved One with Help From a Private Investigator

Are you preparing to get a missing persons investigation underway right now? Now that you have a better idea as to how one will play out, begin looking for a private investigator who can put you in the position to locate a missing loved one, someone who is trying to skirt their financial or legal obligations, or anyone else.