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In the United States alone, over 600,000 people go missing each year (1), and while a number of these people are found safe and able to return to their lives, others are never seen or heard from again. It is also worth mentioning that, believe it or not, the U.S. is, “one of the top three nations of origin for victims of human trafficking”, along with Mexico and the Philippines (2). Some estimates even posit that as many as 199,000 incidents of trafficking occur yearly in the U.S. (3). Victims of trafficking are typically forced into labor or sexual slavery, and It is a prevalent and devastating problem that occurs and goes largely undetected in every state in the nation (4). With human trafficking occurring on an epidemic level (5), it does not seem unreasonable to posit that some of those missing persons’ might have actually been abducted or coerced into trafficking.
However, regardless of circumstance or reason, the fact of the matter remains: over 600,000 people go missing each year—leading many of us to question how we can effectively keep ourselves as safe as possible. In this article, I will discuss how the creation of an “If I Go Missing” folder could potentially save your life should you ever go missing or disappear, but before doing so I would like to spend some time outlining the process of filing a missing persons report.
THE INS AND OUTS OF FILING A MISSING PERSONS REPORT
According to Criminology experts, the first 72 hours from the point a person goes missing are the most crucial and important hours for the investigation into their disappearance (6). The reason for this is because it becomes more difficult to track someone’s movements the longer you wait; for example, people who may have had an interaction with the missing person before their disappearance are far more likely to recount accurate and detailed information the sooner they are questioned (6). In other words, peoples’ memories begin to fade over even a short period of time, so for police hoping to locate a lead, it's best to act as soon as possible. Additionally, the longer one waits to act in the case of a missing person, the more likely it is for that missing person to be hurt, killed, or transported further and further away from the scene of the crime, assuming they were abducted.
However, the unfortunate reality is that many police departments here in the U.S. will actually advise that you wait anywhere from 24 hours up to 72 hours before filing a missing persons report, and some won’t even take the report until that time period has elapsed (6, 7). Basically, the reason police want you to wait before filing a missing persons report for most adults is because technically adults are legally allowed to “wander off”, and many people just end up showing back up shortly after they are presumed “missing” by friends or family. Think about it, if the police took every single missing persons report immediately, many of those reports would cease to be relevant 24-72 hours later when whoever was reported as “missing” shows back up just fine. While the 24-72 hour rule may help lighten the load on law enforcement’s end, it continues to prove a problematic strategy in the cases of those missing persons reports which, if filed sooner, could have saved a person’s life.
While the protocol for reporting most missing adults typically requests or requires up to a 72 hour wait, law enforcement also evaluates many of these reports on a case by case basis. For example, if the person who disappeared was acting strangely or out of the ordinary before disappearing, or if there is evidence or reason to believe that fowl play took place, your report is more likely to be taken immediately (6, 7). Also, if the person who is presumed to be missing is deemed a danger to themselves or others, police are likely to act as soon as possible.
Once a missing persons report is taken and looked into, more time must still elapse before police will be able to gain access to documents such as phone records and banking information. Because these are personal records, requests must be processed before any access is granted, which can take anywhere from a few days, to as long as a few weeks.
While law enforcement is here to help and will likely get around to a missing persons report eventually, why wait for them? The best thing you can do for yourself is to be your own advocate—should you ever go missing, fall victim to an abductor, or become the victim of fowl play, wouldn't you want to have done everything in your power beforehand to try to help those close to you, and the police, find you as soon as possible? I know I would.
BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE, CREATE AN ‘IF I GO MISSING’ FOLDER
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One of the best ways to advocate for yourself is by creating an “If I Go Missing” folder. I was first introduced to the concept of the “If I Go Missing” folder while listening to an episode from popular true crime podcast, Crime Junkie, hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat.
Essentially, it is a physical folder that includes important personal information about yourself, and is meant to be accessed by an entrusted loved one in the event that you are to disappear or go missing for any reason. The purpose of the folder is to provide a loved one with key information that could be used to aid in finding a disappeared person sooner.
Now, I understand why you might have some initial resistance to the idea of creating something that seems so, well, morbid—after all, it might feel kind of scary and somehow wrong to be creating a folder for an event that may never occur. But think about it: wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?
This folder can be as lengthy and detailed, or as short and specific as you would like—however, there are some key elements that every effective “missing” folder should include.
Key Elements to Include in Your Folder:
Login Credentials for:
Cell phone provider account
Cell phone lockscreen pin
Computer access password/pin
Apple ID & password (for iPhones)
Icloud account (for iPhones)
Main social media accounts
Banking and credit card accounts
Basic Personal Information:
Your full name, birthday, sex, and gender identity
Height, weight, eye color, hair color
Your personal cell phone number
Underlying medical conditions or medications you may be on
Any and all personal Identifiers (scars, tattoos, piercings, glasses, braces, birthmarks, etc)
3-5 recent photos of yourself
Extended Personal Information:
Home address & information on who you live with
What car you drive, the license plate, year, make and model, VIN
Information about your spouse or significant other, if you have one
-Their full name, address, and contact information
-How long have you been together?
-Any children?
Work address and phone number
Your job/work title, supervisor name and phone number
List of 5 people closest to you, this can be family, friends, co-workers, etc.
Their relation to you, contact information, and addresses
Which law enforcement agency to contact and in which jurisdiction (home and work)
Your Acknowledgement Statement
Located at the end of your folder should be a statement acknowledging that you are indeed the one who compiled the information, and that you grant access for use of any and all of the information in the folder should you go missing or disappear.
Must be signed and dated by you
Previously, I referred to the folder as “physical” and not “digital” because it is best not to house your “If I Go Missing” folder on an electronic device such as a computer or phone that could be hacked, stolen, or in some way compromised. After all, your folder will contain a plethora of very personal information that could cause problems, such as identity theft or fraud, if it were to somehow end up in the wrong hands (8). For these reasons, it’s best to keep your physical folder in a safe and secret place, such as a safety deposit box at a bank, where it can only be accessed by you and one or two other entrusted people, such as your parents, your spouse, or a best friend.
Again, the above list of essentials are not all of the categories your “If I Go Missing” folder can include, but they are some of the most important. If you would like to create a more comprehensive and detailed “If I Go Missing” folder, the creators over at Crime Junkie Podcast have put together a helpful template of questions that can be printed and filled out—this packet also includes a ready to sign Acknowledgement form. You can access the template here. I suggest using this template for best possible results.
HOW TO USE APPS TO ENSURE MORE SAFETY
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In addition to creating an “If I go Missing” folder, there are some other helpful ways to maximize your likelihood of being found, should you ever need to be.
If you have an iPhone, one thing you can do right away is turn on the “FindMy” app. This app has several great features that ensure the ultimate safety and security of yourself and your phone. One wonderful thing this app allows you to do is enable location sharing with friends and family in real time, even if you are offline. Location sharing is a great way to ensure that a parent, close friend, or partner knows where you are in case of an emergency. I understand that we don’t always want our location to be known by those close to us for one reason or another, but it’s worth it to consider entrusting at least one, if not two people with this information, should there ever be a situation where it is seriously needed. After all, it could save your life.
Another feature offered through the “FindMy” app is called “Help a Friend”, and its purpose is to help those close to you find their iPhone if they were to lose it. This is achieved by allowing the person who has lost their phone the chance to log in to their own account via icloud.com, and find the last known location their phone was used, so that it can be recovered. While this is a wonderful tool to help loved one’s find lost phones, it can perhaps more importantly be used in the case of someone who goes missing with their iPhone, and who may not have been sharing their location with anyone close to them. More specifically, if someone knows your icloud login credentials, they would be able to access your icloud account via icloud.com, and find the last known location of your iPhone, which in this case would also be your last known location. This GPS technology has the capacity to be able to save lives by leading police right to your location, assuming your iPhone is wherever you are.
The good news for Android users is that there are similar apps that function in the same way the iPhone “FindMy” app does! “Find My Device” by Google is a free app that offers the same ability to find a lost phone (or help locate someone who went missing with their phone); another free app is “Family Locator” by Life360, which allows you to share your locations with friends and family. Additionally, for those hoping to share locations between an Android and an iPhone, there is actually a way to do this through the Google Maps app! As long as both parties have Google accounts, the “Maps” app allows the option to turn on your location and share indefinitely with your contact; however, if the person you’re sharing with does not have a Google account, it's best for them to sign up for one or you will only be able to share your location through a text message that you must physically send, which would not be as ideal in a crisis situation.
The truth is, this is a scary world we live in—therefore, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to implement as many safety measures into our daily lives as possible. While I am not suggesting that we all become paranoid, I am suggesting that we are all prepared. There are steps that each of us can take in order to stay as safe as possible, and if—god forbid, those measures are not enough, an “If I Go Missing” folder could be what is needed in order to save your life. So go make one.
Here is that link to the Crime Junkie "If I Go Missing" folder template!
REFERENCES
“The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).” NamUs.gov, National Institute of Justice, www.namus.gov/.
Pasley, James. “20 Staggering Facts about Human Trafficking in the US.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 25 July 2019, www.businessinsider.com/human-traffic king-in-the -us-facts-statistics-2019-7#the res-no-accurate-estimate-on-how-much-mo ney-trafficking-makes-in-the-us-since-victims-are-often-guarded-by-captors-lack-proper-documentation-and-work-behind-the-scenes-22.
Keiper, Andrew, and Perry Chiaramonte. “Human Trafficking in America among Worst in World: Report.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 23 June 2019, www.foxnews.com/us/human-trafficking-in-america-among-worst-in-world-report.
“Polaris: Human Trafficking.” Polaris, Polaris Project Nonprofit Organization, polarisproject.org/.
Gallucci, Jaclyn. “Human Trafficking Is an Epidemic in the U.S. It's Also Big Business.” Fortune, Fortune Media IP Limited, 14 Apr. 2019, fortune.com/2019/04/14/human- sex-trafficking-us-slavery/.
Jacobo, Julia. “Why the First 72 Hours in a Missing Persons Investigation Are the Most Critical, According to Criminology Experts.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 8 Oct. 2018, abcnews.go.com/US/72-hours-missing-persons-investigation-critical-criminology-experts/story?id=58292638.
“What Really Happens When You File a Missing Person Report?” Missing Persons of America , Missing Persons of America , 7 Feb. 2018, www.missingpersonsofamerica.com /2018/02/07/file-missing-person-report/.
Levins, Savannah. “Thousands Create 'If I Go Missing' Folders; Police Say Trend Could Be Life-Saving.” WCNC, WCNC, 19 July 2019, www.wcnc.com/article/news/thou sands-create-if-i-go-missing-folders-police-say-trend-could-be-life-saving/275-5734fc30-2712-47cc-8cd0-c2ffaec0539c.
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