A parent whose child was missing for almost a month shared their experience with RTL’s Céline Spithoven. The parent and child in question will remain anonymous in the interest of protecting their identities.
When the child first went missing, the parent said it was clear their child had not been kidnapped or worse. In fact, the family was sure where the child was staying; however, they went on to file a missing persons police report. Initially it was not treated as an emergency as the child had clearly run away.
“It wasn’t so dramatic that first week, because I was fairly sure I knew where my child was. However, as time passed, I became more concerned.”
Despite the police report, there were no developments in the case. The parent turned to friends and family to figure out ways of reaching their child, and attempted to get in contact via social media. Eventually, their child returned home after collecting their belongings from where they had been staying.
“I was pretty certain of where my child had been staying, and I even told the police. They sent a patrol to the address, but the other parent told them the child wasn’t there.”
Once their child had safely returned home, the parent was able to get the child to confide in them and discovered what had occurred over the past month. “The situation deteriorated all of a sudden. My child had a very concerning group of friends, who had committed acts such as theft, or selling and consuming drugs. I was shocked when I found out exactly what had been going on.”
The parent had previously reached out to a number of organisations and centres for young people, suspecting their child was involved with drugs. “They rang me a lot to ask about the situation while my child was missing.” However, the parent said they had not received new information from the police.
“Every time I visited the police station, I would be seen by someone else. Everyone I spoke to was very kind, but they couldn’t offer me any assistance.”
Although the parent said they did not wish to complain about the service as such, they felt the entire system was problematic.
There are a number of crucial details required when a missing persons report is filed with police. For example, police will need a detailed physical description of the missing individual, but they also require details on the person’s individual situation. Cases where an individual has left a farewell letter behind are treated differently to incidents where a teenager has run away from a home or care centre. Officers are required to establish contact with the missing person’s family, and also conduct searches of residences.
Once a police officer has gathered the required information, the case is submitted to the public prosecutor’s office to establish the urgency of the matter. Here, factors such as the person’s condition, health, and age all play a role. Both the prosecutor and police collaborate to decide whether a case is considered concerning or not.
While police conduct their investigation, the prosecutor’s office can choose to implement further measures, such as the publication of an official missing persons notice. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
A missing child is generally always treated as a “concerning disappearance”. The public prosecutor’s office is systematically notified of such cases and kept up to date with the investigation details.
However, cases in which a child has run away from a specific care centre, or care home, are generally treated as less worrisome. “In these cases, it is easier to identify and search the places where the minor might be staying, and the missing child often reappears after a short period of time”, said a police spokesperson.
In spite of the above, police say they do not ignore such cases; instead, they continue to gather information, which is then circulated internally to ensure officers on patrol can keep an eye on matters.
In the event that police suspect a child has been abducted, they deploy a different procedure, with far more stringent measures. Abductions can trigger an amber alert by order of the public prosecutor’s office.
