Spence: National Missing Persons Week a reminder for families to communicate

Police Minister Judy Spence is urging people to communicate with their loved ones in an attempt to avoid hundreds of mistaken missing persons reports each year.

Ms Spence said the message of this year’s National Missing Persons Week, (which starts in Queensland today and runs to Saturday August 9) is to let your family and friends know where you are, to avoid unnecessary anguish.

“Every year thousands of people in Queensland are reported missing,” Ms Spence said.

“In most cases the person is found within days or even hours, with failure to communicate with family and friends often the reason behind the report to police.

“When someone goes missing it has a huge emotional impact on their family and friends. In the majority of cases this turmoil may be avoided if people simply stay in touch.

“Whether it’s letting them know when you’re going away or just calling to say hello and keeping in touch, communication can prevent a lot of angst and police investigations.

“This message is especially aimed at teenagers, as around half of the people who go missing in Queensland every year are aged between 10 and 17 years.

“Almost all are located in a very short timeframe and many have simply failed to tell their parents they were going to a friend’s place, for example.

“There is nothing more daunting for a parent than the thought of their child going missing.

“This year's campaign aims to promote the message to youth that communicating with family and friends is both easy and essential.”

Ms Spence said Queensland Police receive around 4,000 to 5,000 reports of missing persons each year and less than one percent of those remain open as unsolved cases.

“In those few unsolved cases, police continue to investigate, hoping to find a new piece of information or evidence which will bring answers for devastated family and friends.

“Community awareness is essential in these complicated cases, and National Missing Persons Week aims to build this awareness, in the hope someone in the community will be able to provide new information.”

Detective Acting Superintendent Darryl Johnson of the Queensland Police Service State Crime Operations Command said police investigating missing persons cases not only work in partnership with other government agencies and interstate police services, they also rely on invaluable assistance from sporting events and television shows.

“The Missing Persons Unit has negotiated partnerships with the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland Roar, Queensland Cricket, Cricket Australia, Brisbane Lions and the North Queensland Cowboys to display PowerPoint presentations of missing persons at all home games,” Detective Acting Superintendent Johnson said.

“Members of the unit are also involved in the filming of the “Missing Persons Unit” series which has nationwide exposure on commercial and pay television networks.

“Through such series we have been provided with information from the public on ongoing cases including the investigation into the disappearance of Kerry Mackay.

“Kerry was last seen in Chinchilla in 2003. Her vehicle was located in the Durakai State Forest in 2007, and police conducted searches of the area but were unable to locate Kerry.

“In April this year, people fossicking for gold near Inglewood located a campsite containing Kerry’s belongings and notified police.

“This highlights the importance of having the interest of the community on missing persons cases, as information from the public in this case has significantly assisted police with their ongoing investigations into her disappearance,” Detective Acting Superintendent Johnson said.

For more information http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/missingPersons/

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Media Contact: Minister's Office - 3239 6172            Police Media: 3015 2444