Expert: Jack Toomey - 2/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I'm requesting this information for a (sci-fi/fantasy-ish) story I'm working on.  I have two teenaged characters (close friends) who went missing within a few months of each other.  At this point in the story, about three years have passed since the kids' disappearance; one of the kids has returned home while the other is still missing.  There was suspicion of foul play, but the stuff the returned kid has been telling her family is pretty nonsensical and would probably be dismissed as crazy raving or outright lying by most.  Her family has reason to believe that she's telling the truth, however.

Here are my questions:
1)  After three years with no evidence of the kids being either alive or dead, and no clues to their whereabouts, would the case still be open/active?  If it had been closed/inactive, would it be reopened after the one kid returned?
2)  My impulse is to have the returned kid's family try to keep quiet about what happened to the girl during the time she was missing; the family of the other missing kid would be privy to this information, but everyone would want to keep the media and, if possible, law enforcement officials from knowing any details.  I'd imagine this would raise considerable suspicion, though, and am not sure that law enforcement would allow the family to plead the fifth in a case like this.  Would it be realistic for the family to simply tell the authorities that their daughter had returned home without volunteering any further information?
3)  The returned kid would be able to tell the families where the other missing kid is and that he's alive and not in any danger of immediate harm, but that it's out of anyone's power to bring him home; again, the families have reason to believe that she's telling the truth and not just spouting off a bunch of crazy talk, so I thought they might call off the search for the other kid.  How would they go about this, and how would law enforcement respond?  I'm sure they would ask why the request is being made; would they want evidence that the other kid is deceased or proof of his whereabouts?  What would happen when no such proof can be given?

If it makes any difference, the returned kid would now be a legal adult (just turned 18), while the still-missing kid is still a minor.

I thank you for taking the time to read my rambling.  Hopefully it makes some sense and isn't too silly.

ANSWER: Let me give you some advice.  Do not use the term "went missing".  That is purely a media phrase and the police do not and never have used it.  I have no idea why this phrase has crept into the media jargon but it is not realistic to have a police officer saying it.

1.  I don't understand the question.  If one kid has returned how can three years have gone by with no evidence of both being dead or alive?  Obviously one is alive.

   I don't know the ages of these kids.  Are they ten or are they seventeen?  Obviously a lot more attention and manpower would be devoted to a case where two ten year olds were missing.  If kids are missing the case is never closed or inactive.  After three years there might not be much activity or leads but trust me someone would be assigned to the case.

2.  Law enforcement cannot force anyone to say anything so your thought about law enforcement not allowing the family to remain silent is not realistic and would not happen in real life.  If one kid had returned and the other hadn't and the police believed that the parents of the returned kid had information then they would probably have the prosecutor subpoena the whole group to testify in front of the grand jury who can force their testimony.  The police cannot.

3.  That simply would not happen.  The police have the obligaton to the public and family to return the missing kid to his/her family.  Although I don't understand how its out of anyones power to bring the child home unlesss he is on another planet.

You are probably going to have to reword question three because I am having a bit of a problem understanding it.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mr. Toomey,
Thank you for your answers thus far.  They've already proven to be very helpful.

Most of the discussion of the subject at hand will be between civilians, rather than police, hence I was going to have them refer to the kids as having "gone missing"; I'd kind of suspected that a law enforcement professional wouldn't use that particular turn of phrase, so thank you for confirming that.  Out of curiosity, what term would they use?

1) I should have worded this more carefully.  I meant that -prior- to the first kid's return, after several years had gone by with no clue to their whereabouts, would the case have been closed or inactive.  At the time of their disappearance, the kids were fourteen and sixteen - not particularly vulnerable little kids, but still minors.  I was under the assumption that any time a person under eighteen goes missing they're considered a "missing child" and thus more effort goes into locating them than for an adult who is free to go where he wants, when he wants.  There's nothing to suggest that the kids were just running away from home in a fit of temper or whatnot - more of a "went out for a bike ride and never came home" sort of situation.  Would any of that affect how much attention is paid to the case, particularly since one kid is now a legal adult and the one still missing is nearing that age?

2)  If the family is subpoenaed, would their testimony be made public, then?  How long would law enforcement wait before having the prosecutor subpoena the family?

3)  Saying he's on another planet isn't too far off from the situation in the story, actually; as I said, it's a sci-fi/fantasy story, albeit one with some grounding in reality - hence why I'd like to know how this sort of situation might be dealt with in the real world.  Basically the kids were drawn into a parallel universe, and the one kid returned after three years or so; her family saw her literally materialize in front of them out of nothing, so when she tells them she's been in another dimension they're inclined to believe her.  They also know that this isn't going to fly with law enforcement, the courts, or the public at large - which is why I'm wondering how much they might realistically be able to obscure the details of her (and the other kid's) disappearance.

Again, I thank you for your time and the help you've already provided.

Answer
1.

No missing person case is closed unless the missing person is located and determined to be safe and sound.  In cases of juveniles a missing person case is not closed until the child is returned to his parents.

If the missing juvenile has been missing for several years and is  presumed to be alive but now an adult it does not mean the  case gets closed but I don't think that there would be a huge effort to locate him/her.  

2.  The prosecutor's office is responsible for the grand jury.  The grand jury's task is to investigate crimes, return indictments, and in cases where non-cooperating witnesses are involved to bring them before the grand jury to answer questions.  This process is used more than you realize.  All grand jury testimony is secret.

I don't know how long it would take to get the family in front of the grand jury.  If it was in the middle of Nebraska it might be next week.  If it was in New York City it might be months.

3.  You are correct.  The police are not going to believe a word of it. The rest is mubo-jumbo to me.