How to Conduct a Physical Search for a Missing Person
When a person goes missing, nothing is more important than making sure she is returned to her family as soon as possible. When conducting a physical search for a missing person, you need to act fast. Every hour lost makes a huge impact on the possibility of a safe return of the missing person. If you're put in charge of the physical search, be sure to take precautions, work with the police, stay organized and focus on the task at hand, which is finding the missing person.
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Instructions
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Consult with the local police and any other law enforcement agency that's involved with the missing person's case before beginning the physical search. Make sure the police know what you plan to do, where you plan to search and how you plan to recruit volunteers. It's important that you work with the police every step of the way. Making the search a joint effort will increase your chances of finding the missing person.
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Recruit volunteers. Organize the missing person's friends and family members, as well as people from the community, to help with the search. Contact local organizations, such as churches, government organizations and, of course, the police department, to help recruit volunteers.
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Contact the local news media, especially the local television stations. Give a recent photograph of the missing person to the newspapers and TV stations. Make sure they mention that you're recruiting volunteers for the search, the missing person's description, clothes she was wearing, who she was last seen with and where she was last seen.
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Create flyers. If possible, work with professionals to create a flyer that will catch people's attention. Be sure the picture on the flyer is recent and that the physical appearance of the missing person is clearly visible. Also, include a description of the person, a description of the clothes she was wearing, who she was last seen with and where she was last seen.
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Interview family and friends about where the missing person might be. Find out the places she may have visited and people she's usually with. Try to determine if there's any reason why she might have voluntarily gone missing or if there's any particular person who may be considered a threat. The police may also be interviewing friends and family. Make sure you clear it with them before you conduct interviews yourself, and share all the information you find with the police.
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Make a list of places to physically search. Include places where family and friends said the missing person might be. Also, include the area where she was last seen, as well as places in the community where a missing person might be found, such as wooded areas. Let the police know where you'll be searching.
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Gather the supplies you'll need for the physical search. Depending on the climate and the time of day you plan to search, you'll need different types of supplies, such as flashlights, sweatshirts and long pants, bug spray and first aid kits. Make sure you have a first aid kit for each of the volunteer groups.
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Ask the volunteers you recruited to meet in one place, such as a community center, and give them each specific tasks to complete. Some should be handing out flyers throughout the community, while others should be searching the areas on your list. Break the volunteers up into teams and assign each team an area to search. Find out how many volunteers have first aid training or medical experience and try to have at least one of these volunteers in each group.
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Make sure you have the cell phone numbers of at least one person in each group, and make sure every volunteer has your cell phone number. If any new information is discovered or if the missing person is found, you want to make sure everyone can be notified as quickly as possible. Also, be sure you have the number for your local authorities, so they can also be contacted right away.
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Tips & Warnings
In addition to cell phones, consider using two-way radios during the search for the missing person. These can be used as backup in case you're in an area with poor cell phone reception or your cell phone batteries die.
