While the fear of being kidnapped may persist for one’s entire life, the number of missing persons under the age of 21 was much higher than those 21 and over in the United States in 2024. In that year, there were 198,686 females under the age of 21 who were reported missing in the U.S., compared to only 63,584 females over the age of 21. Why people go missing There are many reasons why people go missing; some are kidnapped, some purposefully go missing - in order to escape abuse, for example - and some, usually children, are runaways. What persists in the imagination when thinking of missing persons, however, are kidnapping victims, usually due to extensive media coverage of child kidnappings by the media. Demographics of missing persons While the number of missing persons in the United States fluctuates, in 2021, this number was at its lowest since 1990. Additionally, while it has been observed that there is more media coverage in the United States of white missing persons, almost half of the missing persons cases in 2022 were of minorities.

In 2024, there were 301,623 cases filed by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) where the race of the reported missing person was white. In the same year, 17,097 people whose race was unknown were also reported missing in the United States. What is the NCIC? The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a digital database that stores crime data for the United States, so criminal justice agencies can access it. As a part of the FBI, it helps criminal justice professionals find criminals, missing people, stolen property, and terrorists. The NCIC database is broken down into 21 files. Seven files belong to stolen property and items, and 14 belong to persons, including the National Sex Offender Register, Missing Person, and Identify Theft. It works alongside federal, tribal, state, and local agencies. The NCIC’s goal is to maintain a centralized information system between local branches and offices, so information is easily accessible nationwide. Missing people in the United States A person is considered missing when they have disappeared and their location is unknown. A person who is considered missing might have left voluntarily, but that is not always the case. The number of the NCIC unidentified person files in the United States has fluctuated since 1990, and in 2022, there were slightly more NCIC missing person files for males as compared to females. Fortunately, the number of NCIC missing person files has been mostly decreasing since 1998.

The Missing Person Information Clearinghouse was established July 1, 1985, within the Department of Public Safety providing a program for compiling, coordinating and disseminating information in relation to missing persons and unidentified body/persons. Housed within the Division of Criminal Investigation, the clearinghouse assists in helping to locate missing persons through public awareness and cooperation, and in educating law enforcement officers and the general public about missing person issues.

In 2024, the number of missing person files in the United States equaled 533,936 cases, an increase from 2021 which had the lowest number of missing person files in the U.S. since 1990.

The dataset contains the state-wise number of persons reported missing in a particular year, the total number of persons missing including those from previous years, the number of persons recovered/traced and those unrecovered/untraced. The dataset also contains the percentage recovery of missing persons which is calculated as the percentage share of total number of persons traced over the total number of persons missing. NCRB started providing detailed data on missing & traced persons including children from 2016 onwards following the Supreme Court’s direction in a Writ Petition. It should also be noted that the data published by NCRB is restricted to those cases where FIRs have been registered by the police in respective States/UTs.

Note: Figures for projected_mid_year_population are sourced from the Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036

Missing persons

Missing Persons Statistics........................

NamUs is the only national repository for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases. The program provides a singular resource hub for law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, and investigating professionals. It is the only national database for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons that allows limited access to the public, empowering family members to take a more proactive role in the search for their missing loved ones.

Missing Persons Data

Number of homicide victims, by Indigenous identity (total, by Indigenous identity; Indigenous identity; First Nations (North American Indian); Métis; Inuk (Inuit); Indigenous person, Indigenous group unknown; non-Indigenous identity; unknown Indigenous identity) and missing person status (total, by missing person status; missing; not missing; missing person status unknown), Canada, 2015 to 2024.

In 2023 alone, ****** persons have been reported as missing in Mexico, a figure that implies about ** people going missing every day. The volume of these incidents soared after Felipe Calderon's government declared the war on drugs in December 2006, an event that marked a surged in violence throughout the Latin American country.

Under Section 8 of the Missing Persons Act, 2018, police services are required to report annually on their use of urgent demands for records under the Act and the Ministry of the Solicitor General is required to make the OPP’s annual report data publicly available. The data includes: * year in which the urgent demands were reported * category of records * description of records accessed under each category * total number of times each category of records was demanded * total number of missing persons investigations which had urgent demands for records * total number of urgent demands for records made by OPP in a year.

This project provides a comprehensive dataset of over 130,000 missing and unaccounted-for people in Mexico from the 1960s to 2025. The dataset is sourced from the publicly available records on the RNPDO website and represents individuals who were actively missing as of the date of collection (August 1, 2025). To protect individual identities, personal identifiers, such as names, have been removed.Dataset Features:The data has been cleaned and translated to facilitate analysis by a global audience.Fields include:SexDate of birthDate of incidenceState and municipality of the incidentData spans over six decades, offering insights into trends and regional disparities.Additional Materials:Python Script: A Python script to generate customizable visualizations based on the dataset. Users can specify the state to generate tailored charts.Sample Chart: An example chart showcasing the evolution of missing persons per 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico between 2006 and 2025.Requirements File: A requirements.txt file listing the necessary Python libraries to run the script seamlessly.This dataset and accompanying tools aim to support researchers, policymakers, and journalists in analyzing and addressing the issue of missing persons in Mexico.

Comprehensive dataset containing 2 verified Missing persons organization businesses in Washington, United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.

The dataset contains the age-group wise and gender-wise number of persons reported missing in a particular year, total number of persons missing including those from previous years, number of persons recovered/traced and those unrecovered/untraced. The dataset also contains the percentage recovery of missing persons which is calculated as the percentage share of total number of persons traced over the total number of persons missing. NCRB started providing detailed data on missing & traced persons including children from 2016 onwards following the Supreme Court’s direction in a Writ Petition. It should also be noted that the data published by NCRB is restricted to those cases where FIRs have been registered by the police in respective States/UTs.

Taichung City missing people......................

The number of missing person cases in Japan amounted to approximately ***** thousand in 2023, up from the previous fiscal year, that represented about ***** thousand. Boosted by the aging Japanese society, the leading cause for missing people reports was related to illnesses, with dementia accounting for around **** percent of the total number of missing person cases in that year.

Note: These statistics are published as Official Statistics. Users should be cautious making comparisons between local authorities, or across years due to changing reporting practices - see the methodology document for further information. Children looked after who were missing. Figures by duration of missing periods, placement from which the child went missing and age of child at start of missing incident. Data formerly in table G1.

Comprehensive dataset containing 1 verified Missing persons organization businesses in Michigan, United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.

Comprehensive dataset containing 3 verified Missing persons organization businesses in North Carolina, United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.