National Missing Persons Week – first week in August

One person goes missing every 15 minutes in Australia, more than 35,000 people are reported missing each year, and more than 2,000 people are currently listed as a long-term missing person.

It is a common myth in the community that people have to wait 24 hours to report a person as missing—this is not the case. Report your concerns to police immediately.

Most people reported missing to police are located within a short period of time. Of those reported, more than 95 per cent are located within one week and 99.5 per cent of all missing persons are eventually located. While the majority of those reported are located, a significant number of people, approximately 1600, remain missing long-term (for more than three months).

Anyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or educational background, may become a missing person; however, adults are more likely to be listed as long-term missing persons.