Shocking increase in Scots who go missing
THE number of missing person reports in scotland rose to nearly 23,000 – an average of 63 a day – last year.
The cases related to around 12,500 individuals – with a quarter involving 300 people, each of whom had been reported missing ten or more times.
The Police scotland figures show missing person investigations rose by 977 (4.4 per cent) in 201718, compared to the previous year.
Of those reported missing, 64 per cent were children, while 24 per cent of investigations involved someone with a mental health issue. More than 99 per cent of people reported missing are found alive, with 0.4 per cent dead and 0.1 per cent remaining missing.
Of those found dead, the vast majority were men who had not gone missing before and had no know mental health issues.
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard higgins said: ‘Many will go voluntarily, but others may feel it is their only option and some may be in extreme distress.
‘We cannot underestimate the impact such cases have on families and people’s loved ones. The support of communities is vital in helping us trace missing persons.
‘We are absolutely committed to tracing those reported missing, and our officers and staff work tirelessly in every case to achieve a positive outcome for families.
‘While no crime has usually been committed, missing persons investigations are one of the biggest demands on modern policing and can be very challenging.
‘This is only the second year we have been able to publish data taken from our National Missing Persons Database, but already a clear picture is developing of who goes missing and from where.’
The figures follow controversy over Police scotland’s handling of some missing persons reports.
Earlier this month, the Police investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) found officers spent only five minutes searching a garage in Bo’ness, West Lothian, where the body of Arnold Mouat, 64, lay for a month before it was found by his family in 2017.
Last June, a PIRC report laid bare a catalogue of blunders during the search for a grandmother suffering from dementia who died after vanishing from her home.
Janet McKay, 88, was found dead on waste ground in september 2015, eight days after being reported missing from her home in Knightswood, Glasgow.
it later emerged that three days after she vanished, police were told of a sighting of her boarding a bus heading for Clydebank, where her body was eventually found.
Community safety Minister Annabelle Ewing said: ‘i welcome the publication of these figures and the valuable breakdown they provide into this complex area.
‘it is clear this information can help agencies target support and prevent people going missing.’