New York City Missing Persons Day 2014

November 10, 2014

OCME hosted the first-ever New York City Missing Persons Day on Saturday, November 8, 2014, to connect families with resources to help identify and find their long-term missing loved ones. Nearly 100 family members in attendance had the opportunity to interview with professionals and provide information to aid in identification. Volunteers were also on hand to provide emotional and spiritual support services.

The event was held in partnership with the NYPD Missing Persons Unit, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, American Red Cross, and Disaster Chaplaincy Services, with support from the NYC Office of Emergency Management, NYC Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Center for HOPE, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), and the Doe Network, and assistance from the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit and the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs.

More than 13,000 people were reported missing in New York City last year. While most are promptly found, hundreds of people become missing long term (missing for 60 or more days.) Nationwide, there are more than 87,000 active missing persons cases, while there are tens of thousands of unidentified persons for whom little to no information is entered into national databases. New York City has been conducting a comprehensive review of all the unidentified persons in its custody using new advances in technology, but new technology can only go so far. Identifications cannot be made unless adequate information about missing persons is available for comparison.

Those who could not attend New York City Missing Persons Day may fill out and submit the Family Inquiry Form online. Providing information is voluntary. Information will be used for identification purposes only.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York (OCME) assists in the identification of unidentified persons and finding missing persons. Family reference samples and samples from the missing person are critical to this work.

OCME does not take Missing Persons reports. For assistance or to report Missing Persons cases within New York City (Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island), please contact or visit the nearest New York City Police Department (NYPD) precinct, or call the NYPD Missing Persons Unit at (212) 694-7782 to file a Missing Persons Report.
To formally report someone missing in NYC please contact the NYC Police Department in the precinct in which the person was last seen.

NYC Police Department Precinct Finder:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precinct_maps/precinct_finder.shtml