Police in Glasgow deal with at least 10 missing people a day
POLICE officers in Glasgow dealt with more than 10 missing persons reports a day in a period of just 72-hours.
A total of 40 people were reported to have disappeared between January 9-11 in Greater Glasgow.
The figures come after specialist teams recovered the bodies of three missing men in the space of five days.
Throughout the 72-hour period, a large scale search was launched after a car belonging to Graham Clark was found abandoned on the Kingston Bridge.
The 54-year-old, who lives in Moorpark, Renfrew, was last seen by his mum at her home i n Knightswood at around 6am on Tuesday, January 9.
Police were called to a report of Mr Clark’s car, a green Mazda, found abandoned around 6.15am and with a helicopter and marine unit dispatched soon after to search the River Clyde.
Police divers scoured the River Clyde on Tuesday and Wednesday, with help from the Glasgow Humane Society, for any sign of Mr Clark fearing that he may have fallen into the water.
Superintendent John McBride described the amount of time and resources dedicated to finding missing people as ‘significant’.
He added: “When we receive a report of any missing person, we assess the situation and decide the level of risk the person faces.
“We take into consideration whether they are vulnerable or a threat to themselves, this could be due to mental health problems or conditions such as dementia.
“If someone is deemed a high risk, we will put all resources and staff we have into it, including very specialist search officers who use a grid system to ensure every area is thoroughly examined.
“There are depths and places that our divers can’t go, especially during certain tide. It is sometimes the case that we have to wait for the body to resurface.
“We work closely with the families so that they understand the direction of the search.”
In the case of Mr Clark, the search will continue until specialist officers believe every option has been exhausted.
George Parsonage, officer in the Glasgow Humane Society, said being able to bring the families closure is what drives the organisation to spend up to eight hours searching for bodies in the water.
After being contacted by Police Scotland, the river rescue hero coordinated a search for Graham Clark with Officer William Graham. He said: “Our first port of call was to check CCTV footage, but there was some gaps between 5.30am and 7.30am.
“We continued our bank search then made our way to the Broomielaw Pontoon where we spoke with Police Scotland Marine Unit Officers and passed on what information we had.
“We were mainly involved in a surface search as the marine drivers will go down deeper.
“My main aim is always to recover the body as quickly as possible, for the family, for the police and for everyone else involved.
“No-one believes their loved one is dead, until they have proof and it’s up to use to make sure they can get it.
“I’ve been quite upset to read in the papers that bodies haven’t been found for seven or eight weeks after their disappearance. We rescue four or fives times more people than we find dead, which is the positive side of the job.”
Officers worked over the festive period to reunite families with their loved ones who had gone missing but for some, they didn’t receive the news they were hoping for. Searches for Graham McAdam, 42, from Knightswood, James O’Connor, 39, from Kirkintilloch and Thomas Keenan, 21, from Maryhill, were called off after officers recovered their bodies within the period of a week.
Superintendent McBride adds: “The missing person report will remain open until we can confirm that the person has been found.
“Even if we receive a call from them telling us they are safe, we still want to check that for ourselves.
“Although 40 people over three days seems like a lot, over any given weekend we expect to receive double that.”