Originally written by Laurisa 12/20/12
This thread is an instructional thread of how to find missing persons. Some of it is specific to adult industry workers. I am creating it in response to the overwhelming support and wealth of information received in my thread when my Mom was missing. Thread contributors thanked below, this wouldn't be possible without their selfless research and kindness. I love you all.
Remember: The worst action is inaction.
Before you panic:
TRY to remain as objective and unemotional as possible. You need to think like a detective and look at all evidence objectively. (I.e, don't insist they haven't left voluntarily or aren't using drugs again when you find evidence that they are). The more collected and organized you are, the more information you will gather and the better you can present your case to police if you need to. Write down or record all information you collect. Take pictures/record video (camera phones...hello!) of anything relevant (the home, personal belongings). Do NOT enter a crime scene or suspected crime scene or disturb anything at the home/vehicle/work desk once you know they are missing until police have cleared the scene. Call/text people who may know something and post a message on Facebook/social networking website or message known contacts of the missing explaining the situation. Don't freak out and call people at 2 AM or bombard them, give everyone a few daylight hours to answer. Don't be dramatic and say "Jane is gone! The axe murderer has her!!", just say that the person is missing and hasn't been heard from since _______. If you go to their home to check on them, note if the door is unlocked and how things look outside (grass overgrown, mail from past 5 days in mailbox, newspapers in driveway, trash bins still out from 2 days ago). Ask neighbors about activity at the residence. If you go inside (spare key, door unlocked) do not disturb anything. Avoid touching door handles and windows as finger printing may be done later. Once you have interviewed as many people as you need and approximated a last known location and time seen (and with who), you can either continue tracing their steps from there or decide to file a missing persons report at the police department.
CPR/man down: per 2010 AHA Guidelines
(This is NOT a replacement or representation of medical training or medical advice)
If you find an unresponsive body call 911 immediately. If they are just "gasping" every so often they are in cardiac arrest and need CPR. If they appear to be in cardiac arrest, do not start CPR UNTIL calling 911 or sending someone to call 911. They will die if you try and do one-man CPR by yourself with no relief on the way. Your chest compressions will be ineffective within a few minutes and they won't have access to a defibrillator or cardiac drugs. Soon you will become exhausted and call 911 anyway (trust me)!! If you are not sure if they are dead, shout and tap their shoulders, feel if they are warm, and check for a carotid pulse (on either side of trachea/wind pipe). If you don't feel a pulse or aren't sure if you feel a pulse within 10 seconds call 911 and start CPR. Put the phone on speaker after giving dispatch an address and incident description and announce you are starting CPR. (Keep in mind some diabetics or persons in shock can feel cold/hypothermic and unconscious, but still survive with CPR). One-man non medical personnel CPR for anyone who has reached puberty per 2010 AHA guidelines is 30 chest compressions to every 2 breaths (use AED if available), push in center of chest with the palm/ball of your hand (with fingers locked with other hand overtop) at least 2" at a rate of at least 100/min. Keep your arms straight while compressing, your shoulders should be parallel to your hands. Be sure they are lying flat on a hard surface (not their bed!!)...move them quickly if needed. Do 30 chest compressions to the beat of the song "Stayin' Alive"...yes it works and I'm serious. Tilt their head backward by tilting jaw and forehead back simultaneously to extend neck and open airway. Create a tight seal with your lips over theirs and deliver 2 breaths, each over 1 second. Restart and give 30 chest compressions immediately, then repeat 2 rescue breaths. Then repeat again. (You can do chest compressions only if you do not want to give rescue breaths, but do not stop chest compressions).
Obvious signs of death are: rigor mortis (stiffness), lividity (pooling of blood in body...looks like bruises), decapitation, petrification/decomposition. In the absence of obvious signs of death you are always encouraged to do CPR, even with no training. You are less likely to hurt someone by trying CPR when they don't need it than to not do CPR when they do need it. As a rule of thumb, anyone can start CPR on an unresponsive body at any time in that situation.
Recap:
Shout for help and call 911
Tap their shoulders/shout "are you OK"?
Check carotid pulse for <10 sec, if no pulse/unsure:
Start CPR beginning with 30 chest compressions at 2" deep and at least 100/minute
Then give two rescue breaths over 1 second each
Immediately resume CPR (30 chest compressions, then 2 rescue breaths. Then repeat).
When you confirm them missing: File a police report immediately. Federal law prohibits a "24 hour waiting period" on filing, but many departments won't take action until 24 hours have lapsed. Call the police department where they were last seen, and they will tell you what department to go to in person to file. Then, that department will forward your report via teletype to the department where the person was last seen.
What to bring when filing the report: A few recent photos in good lighting. Face shots that show hair styled typically, glasses on/off, and a body shot is helpful. The pictures should be in good lighting. Also bring and photos you have that show tattoos, birth marks, scars, prominent moles, piercings, etc.
What to list in your report: Include as much of the following as you can - Full name, DOB, race, weight and height, aliases/nicknames, maiden name(s), identifying marks (see above), urgent medical conditions (diabetes, depression, pregnancy, epilepsy, dementia) or prescriptions the person may not have (helps give your case a sense of urgency), last known phone number, email, social networking pages, previous history with eloping (leaving without calling anyone), drug/alcohol or criminal history, person(s)/place/date/time they were last seen, any weapons they may have with them, unusual statements or activity before they disappeared (giving away prized items or money, saying odd things), suspects in disappearance (controlling boyfriend, recent divorcee, drug dealer, etc), persons to contact with information about the person (close friends, other family, people who saw the missing the day they disappeared), circumstances of disappearance (front door unlocked, struggle reported by bystanders, disheveled house, car found abandoned, never made it to work, etc), bank statements/recent transactions or receipts, recent criminal charges/court cases/arrests/divorce or divorce papers served, child custody or child support battles
Information to add (if applicable): Any dependent children the missing person left behind and if it has happened before (if not, emphasize their parenting skills and relationship with children), any habits or routines the person broke by disappearing (always on time to work/or calls in sick, missed appt with doctor, etc), any important deadlines the person has missed or will miss in the next week (court case, foreclosure, medical appointment, work meeting), things left behind the person needs or cherishes (car, cell phone, computer, purse/wallet, bank cards, check book, etc), any significant OR subtle change hinting they might disappear (voluntarily or otherwise)
Key points: Emphasize why this is out of character for them and how voluntarily leaving would disrupt positive things the person was looking forward to (holiday, wedding, graduation, moving, new job, promotions, etc). Help the police understand why this is probably not voluntary (unless you think it is). If they are mentally ill, emphasize how that affects their judgment and could affect their ability to care for themselves. If they are off medication or need medical care talk about the consequences of them not receiving care. If you believe they are in danger explain why and how you got to that conclusion. Include numbers, addresses, or as much contact information as you have (even just a name and appx age) of anyone the police may need to interview later.
What to do next: Write down the name of who took the report and the next steps they gave you. Follow up with them within 48 hours. Create a Google Voice number and forward calls to your phone. Use this for tips/updates about the case. Create an E-Mail address for updates and contacting people about the case. Create a FREE missing person poster and distribute it to police, in neighborhoods, businesses, area they were last seen, major transit stations, cab drivers (to put in their cars), on social networking sites, etc. Consider adding your new Google Voice number and E-Mail as well as police department contact information on flyer. Add a Call Recorder on your phone. It's free and you can save calls and make notes for later. This way you can re-listen to calls to gather evidence. You can opt to have it not record certain numbers and it auto-saves the first 100 calls.
Places to start your search after filing the report:
National DOE/unidentified bodies *GRAPHIC*
Hospitals
Morgues
Jails
Been Verified provides background checks, last known addresses, etc. (FREE 7 day trial, cancel before trial ends and no fee--highly recommended)
Food banks
Churches/street outreach
Hire a private investigator David Grove does PI work for only $100/case
TXEQ is a Texas based organization that searches for deceased/missing persons (high and low profile cases)
DPS/DHS
Community Mental Health Agency
Homeless shelters/Women's shelters
Bus/train/subway stations (show employees their picture)
Neighborhood person disappeared in/near
Local news websites, papers, channels (recent stories)
National Missing Persons Database
Look up addresses, phone numbers or people FREE at Whitepages
Food banks
Local arrest records (search online or call around)
Google their name + keywords like arrest, overdose, accident, etc
Places the person is known to frequent (bars, gym, wifi hotspot)
Interview cab drivers near where person disappeared (they see a lot)
Interview people working in area of disappearance
Put up flyers anywhere relevant
Keep an eye on their social networking websites
Resources to find missing adult industry workers:
Use extreme caution when posting real name/info of a sex worker online and correlating it with their adult work
Cautiously check strip clubs, massage parlors, brothels, tracks (street walkers), agencies
ECCIE (information from hobbyists/providers) Post missing person's information
USASEXGUIDE (information from hobbyists/providers) Post missing person's information
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers Day outreach
Find local SWOP chapter
Craigslist (Dating section) Look for posts from the missing person/place missing person ad
Backpage (Adult section) Look for posts from the missing person/place missing person ad
p411 or call Gina at 1-877-446-2411
More to come! Above all, keep fighting and searching. The key is to keep the word and their picture circulating, don't let people forget.
Thread contributions and special thanks to:
roast, whirlerz, LAChloe, BlkSharpie, eagle2, annabellz, TuesdayMarie, Nikki_Fox, VoluptiousBriadda, nikkidarling, yellowrose25, tempting model, Strippername, FiendishGyrator, RandomBlkChick, Shasta, Sugar Mama, Sunshine16, Bunny8558, sugarmouse0707, Miss_McKenna, littlemissbliss, shanna dior (and so many more)