Missing but never forgotten
Without a trace – the impact felt throughout the community never goes away.
‘Without Them’ is the theme of this year’s National Missing Persons Week which runs from 31 July to 6 August and aims to raise awareness of those in Australia who are missing.
More than 53,000 Australians are reported missing every year with 394 people currently on the state’s long-term missing persons’ register, those missing for more than three months.
Minister for Police Mark Ryan and Commissioner Katarina Carroll acknowledged the important role the community plays in helping safely locate a missing person.
Minister Ryan acknowledged the crucial role members of the public have in assisting police to safely locate a missing person.
“During National Missing Persons Week, I encourage people to reflect on the fact that behind the statistics, behind the police appeals, are real people who remain missing,” Minister Ryan said.
“I encourage anyone with information about a person’s disappearance to contact police as all it takes is one person to recognise a photo or even someone reported missing to come forward, which has the potential to resolve an investigation and lead to much-needed answers for families and friends.”
Commissioner Carroll said on average that twenty-five people were reported missing every day in Queensland with 98% located within the first 48 hours, often thanks to information from the public.
“There are many reasons why people go missing and while thankfully most of those reported to us are located quickly, we never forget those whose whereabouts remains unknown and the devastating impact this has on family and friends,” Commissioner Carroll said.
“It is estimated that for every missing person reported to police, at least 12 people are affected.”
In reflection of the flow on effects of each missing person case the Missing Persons Advocacy Network this week also launched a world first therapeutic tool, The Hope Narratives, providing unique support for families of missing Australians.
The Hope Narratives will aim to assist people struggling with complex, difficult, and often conflicting emotions that cannot be easily managed with standard grief counselling practices.
Consisting of a set of 145 tangible cards each displaying a sentiment from someone who has experienced what it is like to live with, and survive, ‘the unending not-knowing’.
Loren O’Keeffe, Founder and CEO of the Missing Persons Advocacy Network commented on why initiatives such as these went a long way to helping to heal the hurt.
“When a loved one goes missing, there is no right way to deal with it,” she said.
“The Hope Narratives help bring out real and authentic emotions and in doing so, validate experiences in a really meaningful way.”
The Hope Narratives are available for purchase via the MPAN website.