Missing From Home

Having a keen interest in social affairs, this is an issue that I decided to investigate.

Who knows what goes on in the mind of a person who packs up and leaves their loved ones?

There are a number of reasons why a person goes missing from home; it could be through family conflict, abuse, financial worries, stress and alcohol or drug abuse. In the over 60's age group the most common reason is Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia. Whatever the reason it's heartbreaking for the person concerned and for the family.

It is believed that girls aged 13 to 17 are twice as likely to go missing from home than boys in the same age range, similarly, males in their late 20s are more likely to go missing than any other group of adults.

According to the National Missing Persons database there are around 210,000 missing people a year in the U.K. of which 75% are thankfully found safe and well but sadly thousands are still missing. As a consequence of this phenomenon, figures for the homeless are increasing . Of the missing people that are found to have passed away, half had committed suicide and a third had died as a result of an accident or of being harmed. It's alarming to know that many bodies lie un-identified in mortuaries across the U.K.

The somewhat scattered statistics of missing people show that this is a growing concern in our society. To date there is no central database that shows the full extent of missing persons.

We need an integrated system where all agencies and larger organisations collate their information. There needs to be wider advertising to ensure public awareness and more importantly, there should be more support centres where these people can seek advice and guidance before embarking on the drastic step of leaving home.

Central government plays only a small part in providing a clear policy for ensuring that the needs of these people and their families are met, typical but not acceptable in our society.