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Careers: Police/Cost of missing person investigation

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Expert: - 3/29/2008


Question
Hi,

A question--just out of curiosity.

I recently read that, when a person chooses to disappear (and has committed no crime), the police who find him can tell the spouse (or whoever reported the person "missing)that the person is ok, but can not tell where the person is. Let's call a person who just chooses to disappear, "Person 1."

I then remembered that woman who ran away about a year ago, on the day of her wedding (let's call her "Person 2") was held responsible for the cost of the investigation that found her.

Would this be the case with "Person 1" Or was "Person 2" responsible for the cost because she did something to mislead the investigation?

Many thanks,

Steve

Answer
Steve,

   You seem to be aware that an adult has the right to disappear and that there is no law against it.  However I am not aware of any laws that say that the police cannot tell the complaintant where the person is who is missing if he chooses to disappear.  It may be that the police won't tell the complaintant if they suspect that the person was reported missing because of the motive behind the report such as infidelity, bad debts, etc, but in my state there is no law that says that the police can't tell the complaintant.  In fact there is no law that says that the police even have to investigate the disappearance of an adult. But usually they police do.

  If "person 2" was held reponsible for the cost of the investigation of her investigation it was because a judge ordered it after she was arrested and convicted of filing a false police report or hindering a police investigation.  I doubt that this could happen in my state because the missing person wouldn't be the one reporting herself missing.  But remember there are fifty states and each has its own laws so its possible that this happened.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

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Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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