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  Home
Assisting Families of Missing or Unidentified Persons
 
If you are a victim of crime in need of assistance, please contact AskOVC at http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/askovc.
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The 5th Annual National Conference for Responding to Missing & Unidentifed Persons is February 22-24, 2011 in Appleton, WI. This conference is sponsored by Fox Valley Technical College. Please see the...
Barbara Nelson
08/18/2010
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This is not a question, but a resource. Families and Friends of Missing Persons and Violent Crime Victims have been serving families of missing adults since 1975. Our website is www.fnfvcv.org and we have...
Jenny Wieland
07/07/2010
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Debra, you know the pain. How can OVC aid families and victim's investigators gain a stake - access - to the relevant case file to facilitate the search for missing victims? This is not a request to corrup...
mdietz47
05/19/2010
arrow icon That is a good question. But I am going to speak my feeling...
Debra
05/20/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
At this time the Arizona Courts are looking at revising the rules on speedy trials. The issue is that the "true" timing for a trial on capital crimes is 24 months before the trial opens instead ...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
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Here in Arizona, as the entire world knows by now, the border with Mexico presents its own unique legal problems. One of the problems is that suspects in murders, felonies involving children, and other cr...
Mike
05/19/2010
arrow icon Yes, yes, yes.
Debra
05/20/2010
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In many cases, I suppose, for missing children the investigators and the family have a suspect in mind. Though the investigative agency may feel that they do not want to press for an indictment, should th...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
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In Arizona a statute requires investigative agencies to establish central registries for cold cases. They have been slow in establishing those registries because some investigators feel registries don't h...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
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END GUEST HOST SESSION - Thank you for participating in OVC's Web Forum Guest Host Series. We hope this discussion will help you better serve crime victims. Please continue to discuss this and other topics...
OVCRC
05/19/2010
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Investigative agencies tend to "take control" of a cold homicide case and tend to diminish the role of victim families on the basis that they have many cases and cannot commit resources because o...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon One thing that I feel that LE doesnt consider is that the fa...
Debra
05/20/2010
arrow icon First, mental health providers don't work with 'crazy' peopl...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 2 | Total Postings: 2
 
Does the ability to come to a missing child case result take about the same time as it does for a cold case homicide or felony sexual assault?
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon I'm not sure who would have an answer to that question. Perh...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
Do families of missing children need to have their cases identified in statute as cold cases when the report is a year old? Missing children and missing persons cases seem to be "back-burnered"...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon I have never come across this as a policy. In fact most fami...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
It says on the NamUs website that they offer free DNA testing and other forensic services. What exactly does that refer to? Wouldn't that type of testing be handled by the local law enforcement agency?
Erin
05/19/2010
arrow icon The local law enforcement would take the DNA family referenc...
Debra
05/19/2010
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Do you have any suggestions on how to provide assistance to parents of a (long term) missing child case, when one parent wants to move on and the other wants to keep searching?
Enfant-RetourQC
05/19/2010
arrow icon LE can maintain the relationship with the parent who wants t...
Debra
05/20/2010
arrow icon Debra, this is exactly my position. The missing are not nece...
mdietz47
05/20/2010
arrow icon This does take good negotiating skills on the part of the pa...
Duane
05/19/2010
arrow icon I would advise that a case lawful representative be used in ...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 4 | Total Postings: 4
 
How can we help families that are moving into the "cold case" status? For instance, maybe a year or so has passed and nothing new has been discovered. Police are ready to move on. Media is not ...
Carol
05/19/2010
arrow icon Families need to maintain a relationship with the law enforc...
Debra
05/20/2010
arrow icon I will refer you to our answers to a similar question posed ...
Duane
05/19/2010
arrow icon Moving into a cold case status needs special attention. A c...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 3 | Total Postings: 3
 
Ms. Culbertson - some law enforcement agencies have victim advocates respond with them to calls of missing persons. Do you think this is helpful for the family?
Carla Proudfoot
05/19/2010
arrow icon Victim Advocates are very important to law enforcement as we...
Debra
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
Some parents hesitate using NamUs because they feel assuming the missing person may be deceased is like giving up. Any suggestions?
Carol
05/19/2010
arrow icon The not knowing of where and what has happened to your love...
Debra
05/20/2010
arrow icon Good point. But if this is the case, it speaks to a deeper i...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 2 | Total Postings: 2
 
As a victim advocate, what kind of support is needed most by families whose family member may be missing for years? As time passes, that family still needs support, but it's different than the crisis resp...
Cheryll
05/19/2010
arrow icon As you stated it is the continued support that the families...
Debra
05/19/2010
arrow icon Understand that I'm a mental health person, so my answer wil...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 2 | Total Postings: 2
 
What steps should be taken once Law Enforcement has done all it can? What do I do next when they haven't been able find someone?
Tommy
05/19/2010
arrow icon Please dont give up. The law enforcement will continue the ...
Debra
05/19/2010
arrow icon Should NCMEC provide a referral to a missing person organiz...
mdietz47
10/12/2010
arrow icon Again, this is when the small non-profit organizations begin...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 3 | Total Postings: 3
 
I find that when trying to compare unidentified hispanic or latino persons, that there arent many reported missing. Is that because they fear that reporting a loved one missing who may not be here legally ...
Nancy Saykanics
05/19/2010
arrow icon This is a very good question. Your scenario may well be one ...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
Do all states share information about unidentified bodies?
Lucy Lee
05/19/2010
arrow icon Well, in a perfect world that is what we would hope for. T...
Debra
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
How can we push law enforcement in our area to take adult missing person cases more seriously? There are often time delays that don't exist with children's cases and as you know, these are crucial moments ...
Jessica Norton
05/19/2010
arrow icon It is through persistence by the family in most cases. But ...
Debra
05/20/2010
arrow icon Another good resource is the State Clearinghouses. They oft...
Kris Rush
05/19/2010
arrow icon This is when support organizations such as Project Jason can...
Duane
05/19/2010
arrow icon Washington State under the AG, who now is Gov. put a taskfor...
JENNY WIELAND
05/19/2010
arrow icon Creating a legal mandate and working to change law enforceme...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 5 | Total Postings: 5
 
As a point of clarification how do you and OVC distinguish a missing person, an unidentified possible victim and those who those missing who are 'not' deceased?
mdietz47
05/19/2010
arrow icon Families and Friends of Missing Persons and Violent Crime Vi...
JENNY WIELAND
05/19/2010
arrow icon Does the distribution of definitions and activity on disting...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon I cannot speak for OVC as I do not represent them. What you ...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 3 | Total Postings: 3
 
As a detective in the Missing Persons Unit, I feel like I am doing everything for the families but it just doesn't seem like it's enough. The families think we can jump on the computer and send out a loca...
Detective
05/19/2010
arrow icon Detective Yes, Child Quest International can assist LE and ...
Marcia
07/07/2010
arrow icon Are you working with any nonprofit missing children organiza...
Marcia
07/07/2010
arrow icon Reach out to your state clearinghouse, there are resources a...
Cinda Lubich
05/19/2010
arrow icon Here is a brochure that can be downloaded and printed for fa...
JENNY WIELAND
05/19/2010
arrow icon the statement 'the more publicity the case receives, the mor...
mdietz47
10/12/2010
arrow icon The state clearinghouses have resources for families as well...
Cinda Lubich
05/19/2010
arrow icon These website are helpful www.doenetwork.org www.namus.gov w...
Jessica Norton
05/21/2010
arrow icon Can your agancies assist the law enforcement agencies, and t...
Detective
05/19/2010
arrow icon Are you working with any nonprofit missing children organiza...
Marcia
05/19/2010
arrow icon On long term cases you should take family reference DNA samp...
Mike Nardolillo
05/19/2010
arrow icon My feeling is that if you keep the family involved and updat...
Debra
05/19/2010
arrow icon Detective - do you have a community-based victim advocacy pr...
JENNY WIELAND
05/19/2010
arrow icon As for helping the family, the more that they can be involve...
Duane
05/19/2010
arrow icon I believe that detectives are hindered from getting to a rea...
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon Every state has a missing person clearinghouse. The resourc...
Cinda Lubich
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 15 | Total Postings: 15
 
For missing children cases over one year old and unresolved, does a mandatory anniversary review date by the local prosecutor need to be established?
Mike Durham
05/19/2010
arrow icon This question should be referred to the National Center for ...
Debra
05/19/2010
arrow icon From the families point of view it would certainly provide t...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 2 | Total Postings: 2
 
Do we have services assisting African families of missing and unidentified persons especially those whose relatives live in the US? Are there services rendered to families for example from Rwanda's post ge...
Saneta Maiko
05/19/2010
arrow icon Any international process would need to involve similar agen...
Duane
05/19/2010
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
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