What happens when a youth is reported missing in Conn.?
Here’s how police respond
The missing 15-year-old was considered a habitual runaway.
But that didn’t stop Middletown Police Lt. Brian Hubbs from sending out a plea to the media, asking for coverage that could lead to her safe return.
Hubbs had already sought a Silver Alert from the Connecticut State Police Message Center, but he decided to hedge his bets by sending out a news release of his own since he knew the girl often hung out in high-crime areas.
“I wanted to do it sooner rather than later to get her information out there,” Hubbs said. “I took the extra step because of her age.”
A few hours later, Hubbs sent out a second release, indicating the girl had been found safely.
Most missing teens turn up in short order, Hubbs said. But like the state police, his department will investigate the case thoroughly, even if the youth has run away before.
“We treat each case seriously, even if it’s a youth that runs away frequently,” State Police Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz said. “We make sure all of the steps are followed. If they are frequent runaways, we usually have some places where they might have been before. They tend to have a pattern.”
Sgt. Sean Mahar manages the state police Message Center, which acts as a centralized hub for missing persons information and issues Silver Alerts, which are bulletins sent to the media with information about people who have gone missing in Connecticut.
In 2020, the state police issued 1,741 Silver Alerts — 1,225 of them were for missing juveniles. In 2019, Mahar’s unit issued 2,266 Silver Alerts, including 1,831 for minors. As of Oct. 31, there were 1,367 Silver Alerts, with 998 involving minors this year, Mahar said.
Most of the cases are resolved within hours, but each one is taken seriously and investigated with every tool possible, Mahar said.
“There’s a whole host of reasons why you get called to these things, but you have to treat every one independently.”
State police will investigate the missing persons reported to them in their jurisdictions throughout Connecticut, including towns covered by a state trooper. Municipalities investigate their own missing persons cases, but seek Mahar’s Message Center to put out a Silver Alert.
Municipalities or state police investigating a missing persons case can request that Mahar’s unit issue a Silver Alert based on certain criteria. The person must either be a minor or 65 and older, or an adult who is endangered by a medical, mental health or physical condition.
Silver Alerts are generally not issued for healthy missing adults between the ages of 18 to 64 unless there is a compelling reason that police believe the person is in danger.
Due to the criteria, the number of Silver Alerts does not represent the number of people reported missing in Connecticut in any given year, Mahar said.
The steps taken in each investigation depend on the circumstance, Mahar said. A police dog could help track the person if they are believed to be on foot, he said. Checking social media, cellphone locations and talking to friends and family may generate leads, Mahar said.
Many of the missing youths are habitual runaways, like the 15-year-old Middletown girl whose disappearance prompted Hubbs to send out his news release. But officials said that doesn’t change the way they approach those cases.
“The reality is that some of these kids like to buck the system,” said Hubbs, who said his department received a total of 27 missing persons reports between July 1 and Nov. 1. “But when they go missing, it puts their loved ones on alert and they need to know where they are and that they are safe.”
Mahar said when he was with state police’s Troop H in Hartford, there was a teen who was reported missing 17 times in one month.
“Sometimes it was three times a day,” he recalled. Each time the case was investigated, he said.
“If that kid goes missing 25 times, we’re going to do it 25 times,” Mahar said.