Many of us have lost sight of a child while shopping in a supermarket, or on a crowded beach. For most people, the nightmare will end within a few minutes. But sometimes it doesn’t. The charity Missing People is building a dedicated team of people across London ready to join the search when the worst does happen.

Missing People would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join the search in your local area. It is really easy to help us and would just involve sending you an appeal (poster) by email when there is someone missing in your area. Please read on to find out more…….

"Thank you so much for searching for my son. It was so dangerous for him to be alone. It was such a relief when a police officer found him after seeing a Missing People poster.” - Mum of a missing son

Here is just one example of how Search Partners make a difference.

“I received a call from the police asking for help with the publicity of a vulnerable man who had gone missing. They were really concerned that he may have come to some harm as he was unwell and had been missing for a few days.

I took the call at 9am. By 10.30am we had arranged for posters to be sent to Search Partners in his local area. Within a few hours, the local police had received two calls from people who had seen the missing man and as a result of the posters, he had been found and was safe with his family by that night.” Hendrick, Helpline Supervisor

Why do we need you?

Missing People is the only organisation (other than the police) in the UK that can coordinate the search for missing people . With a person reported missing every 90 seconds, this is a huge undertaking and sadly we are unable support everyone who needs our help. By becoming a search partner, you will help us have a much greater impact!

How this works:

When a new appeal is launched for a missing person in your area, we will email you directly.

The email will contain details about the missing person, a link to their missing appeal on our website and a PDF of the Missing Appeal poster. You may wish to share this amongst your colleagues.

When displaying the poster in public places, we ask our Search Partners to ensure that they have permission to display the poster and that they don’t display it on ‘street furniture’ such as lampposts, benches, railings bus stops or walls.

Once the person is found or the appeal is closed, we will email you again asking you to ensure that the posters are then taken down.

To find out who is missing in your area right now, visit www.missingpeople.org.uk/London. You can download posters directly from the website.

You can also join the search by following us on twitter or liking us on Facebook or by sharing appeals via e-mail.

Please contact Beth Knebel at beth.knebel@missingpeople.org.uk if you would like to join the search in your area or if you are interested in other ways that you can support Missing People, through fundraising or campaigning. Beth would also be happy to come and meet with any interested parties so you can find out more.

 

July 26, 2012