Law Enforcement weigh in on missing persons cases - WAOW
WISCONSIN, (WAOW)-- Officials with the Department of Justice and the Marathon County Sheriff's Office say there isn't a one-size-fits- all approach to finding missing people. But following Gabby Petito's case, they did say if someone you know has disappeared, don't wait to report.
There are dozens of people considered missing across the Badger State. Of those, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says 41 are kids, last seen from as recently as a week ago to all the way back to the 1940s. To law enforcement the goal is always to bring someone back safely, regardless of the details.
"We have within our policy guidelines and the procedures in place to look into it step by step and consider with the highest importance until an investigation proves otherwise," said Steven Denovi, Lieutenant with the Marathon County Sheriff's Office.
In some circumstances people decide to leave and not tell anyone, but other cases are more serious. No matter the circumstances, time is always of the essence when reporting.
"As soon as somebody's behavior or whereabouts potentially being unknown feels out of the ordinary, the sooner the better," Denovi said.
When children go missing, Amber Alerts make a big difference in bringing them back safely.
"We have had 10 activations and we have recovered all of our kids safely, and I believe quite quickly because of the Amber Alerts," said Melissa Marchant, Wisconsin Amber Alert Coordinator.
And as the Gabby Petito case demonstrated, social media can be an invaluable tool.
"Oh it's huge, it's huge. The social media platforms that are available to us now to get the word out there whether it's asking witnesses what they saw last, what they heard last, if we're tracking somebody's cell phone activity or their digital media devices," Denovi said.
More information about reporting missing people can be found here.
source: https://waow.com/2021/09/20/law-enforcement-weigh-in-on-missing-persons-cases/
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