Missing People

Missing People is the only charity in the UK which specialises in, and is dedicated to, bringing missing children and adults back together with their families. Some missing people you will have heard of, but many more you won’t. For their families, life without them can be a desperate and unbearable struggle. We are there for them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, at the end of a phone, text or email, ready to use every means possible to search for and find their missing loved ones and to provide vital on-going support to families where the agonising wait turns into years, not just days.

About the issue

An estimated 250,000 people go missing in the UK each year.

The Policy and Research team at Missing People is responsible for improving the support and services available to missing children, adults and their families in three ways.

• Undertake and support research to understand the experiences of missing people and their families, and to understand what help they need.
• Advocate for change through campaigns and policy work on issues affecting missing people and their loved ones.
• Monitor and evaluate Missing People’s projects and services to assess the charity’s impact and how we should develop our services in the future.

What we do

We listen in confidence, and support missing people and their families to explore their options and, where possible, to reconnect.

For those left behind we provide specialised support to ease the heartache and confusion, and help search for their missing loved ones.

Missing People is an independent charity funded by donations. The charity’s income is sourced from individual donations, corporate partnerships, trusts and foundations, and very limited government funding.

Thanks to our fantastic team of volunteers, pro bono partners, media partners, funders and individual supporters, all of our services are provided completely free of charge.

Who we are

We are a team of caring, highly skilled staff and volunteers working around the clock to support anyone affected by missing, alongside our partners and supporters across the UK.

Missing Persons Helpline was started in 1993 by sisters Mary Asprey OBE and Janet Newman OBE in response to the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh from Fulham in 1986. From a bedroom at the sisters’ home in London they launched a free helpline for families, and those with information about the whereabouts of vulnerable missing people.

Twenty years later the organisation has become the charity Missing People.

Contact Missing People

For more information about the Missing People Service go to the Missing People’s web site

www.missingpeople.org.uk