I just wonder what my boy would be like
MARY ANN’S STORY
Scottish Government are reviewing the administrative options for handling missing persons’ estates in a bid to streamline the process for relatives.
If a person has been missing for more than seven years or there is strong evidence they have died despite no body being found, families can raise an action under the Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1977.
In the last five years, more than a dozen missing Scots have been declared dead in this way – giving families the opportunity to deal with their estates.
Susannah Drury, director of policy, research and people for the charity Missing People, has campaigned for better financial control for families.
She said: “Many families expect they will be able to step in and manage the person’s finances and property on their behalf when money stops coming in through wages or benefits – but it continues to drain out of their accounts for bills.
“The finances of a missing person can very quickly fall into disarray and cars and homes can be repossessed while the person is missing.
“Under current law, there’s very little families can do. In Scotland, there is the judicial factors process, where a small number of families can step in and become guardian of finances.
“But it’s a very complicated system that wasn’t designed for that purpose. It is very expensive to apply for and doesn’t feel fit for purpose at all.
“If the person has been missing for a certain amount of time, say three months, we want families to be able to apply to the court to become a guardian.
“We have managed, through a longstanding campaign, to get a similar law introduced in England and Wales and want the same for Scotland.”
The families of long-term missing people we have spoken to for our The Missing Link series have all called for more frequent reinvestigation of their cases.
The Missing People charity say they are there to help keep the hunt going THE LAST time Mary Ann Jones saw her son Kenneth was when he went to bed at their family home in Glenrothes almost 20 years ago. The next morning, he was gone. There has been no trace of the then 18-year-old since November 3, 1998 – and his mum can only imagine what her boy would be like now. Mary Ann, 57, said: “He took no clothes and had no money. It was just like he disappeared into thin air.” A couple of false leads gave the family fleeting hope he might be found but they failed to deliver any trace of him. Mary Ann says she couldn’t bear to live for all families. Susannah said: “Keeping the search alive is such an important thing.
“One thing we can do is support families and advocate to make sure the police are doing what they should be doing if a family is very much feeling that more should be done.
“We can liaise with the police on that but I know Police Scotland are certainly committed to working on longer term cases.”
Monday’s Record looked at work being done on the ScottishGovernment developed National Missing Person’s Framework, which completes its first year this week.
All agencies working with missing people, including police, education in the house after Kenneth left.
She said: “It was like living with ghosts.
“The one thing I’ve held on to was his house coat. I’ve never washed it and it’s hanging up in the wardrobe.”
Now Mary Ann is left to wonder every day what became of her son.
She said: “I’ve got nephews who are older than what he was when he disappeared. I see them growing up and I just wonder about him, what he would be like and what he’s doing.
“I hate to say it but I just feel as though he’s not here any more.
“My friends and family all say, ‘He’s out there somewhere,’ but it’s just hard. Every day is a struggle.”
Mary Ann would like to see her son’s case, and others like it, reinvestigated on a wider scale and families kept up to date with developments more frequently.
She said: “I know the police did what they could at the time but I just feel sometimes it’s like he’s forgotten.” services, the NHS and local authorities, have been asked to adopt a national definition of missing by this month, to make it easier for them to work together and extend the support they offer families.
The Scottish Government have invested more than £200,000 in missing people since 2016.
Annabelle Ewing MSP, Minister for Community Safety, said: “That has been a very good investment.
“We are currently engaged in a mapping exercise to see how the various agencies are getting on with implementing that and discussions are ongoing on the part of Scottish Government officials with a number of agencies to see how things are going.
“We are aware, of course, that there are more than 700 long-term missing persons in Scotland. We recognise that for those families, that it is a living hell.
“I know various agencies involved do what they can and I’m very struck by the tremendously difficult emotional impact on the wider families when a loved one goes missing.
“There is an awful lot of work going on the part of local government, central government and other agencies all trying to work together to make a difference.”