Person Search

When a person disappears, has something happened to them? Have they voluntarily gone into hiding? Have they been kidnapped? The sudden disappearance of a loved one plunges their family into emotional and organizational chaos from one minute to the next. In a vicious cycle of hope and despair, they ultimately wish for nothing more than “just” certainty.

In Austria, a legal adult can generally choose their place of residence freely at any time, even without informing anyone from their social circle before or after. Even if someone disappears into thin air while supposedly just “going out for cigarettes” and thereby implies to their partner that their vows of loyalty were only temporary, this may be impolite, but it is by no means punishable. As long as no alarm bells ring indicating that the disappearance could be due to an accident or crime, the authorities’ search measures are severely limited due to the missing person’s privacy rights.

In the case of missing children and adolescents, a desire for adventure, personal or school problems, or perhaps the influence of the wrong friends often trigger a quick, enticing step into the unknown. Regardless of the dangers, especially young people are exposed to. Perhaps a short message: “I’m fine, don’t worry.” – The worries remain, because the offspring must live off something. What they live off of knows no bounds to the imagination.

If there are no indications of such – comparatively “harmless” – motives, the massive police search apparatus is immediately set in motion for minors.

In Vienna alone, there are approximately 3,000 missing person reports annually, of which about one percent ultimately remain unresolved. It’s evident that in individual cases, even a dozen – no matter how dedicated – officers simply lack the resources to conduct intensive investigations.

Therefore, the additional deployment of experienced detectives as a supplement is often promising. Working together is usually in the best interest of both the detectives and the officers.

Often, recognizing the smallest clues determines the success or failure of the search. After decades of experience, one develops a “sixth sense” for details. For often crucial details.