What we don’t talk about when we talk about missing people

When you think of a missing person, what do you picture?

An abduction, a murder, a bushwalking misadventure – or perhaps someone with dementia who has wandered off and got lost?

Our assumptions about missing people can be accentuated by media attention, which often focuses on crime and on certain kinds of cases and people. One example is what researchers in the United States have called “missing white woman syndrome” – where media privileges stories about younger, middle-class white women who’ve gone missing unintentionally.

In Australia, police receive 50,000 reports about missing people each year – up from an annual average of 38,000 in the years between 2008–15. The reasons people go missing are complex and varied, and it’s not always an accident.

While 98% are found again, better understanding of who is most at risk of going missing, and why, will help prevent further harm.

Why do people go missing?

Someone is considered missing when there are concerns about their safety and wellbeing and their current whereabouts are unknown. You may have heard someone has to be missing for 24 hours before police will accept a report – this is a myth.

Missing person cases exist on a continuum, from unintentional disappearances to intentional disappearances.

Unintentional cases are the ones most of us probably recognise best. These include travellers who get lost, people with dementia or disabilities who might not realise they’re missing, and those who are victims of crime, sometimes called “forced missing”.

Intentional disappearances mean someone has chosen to disconnect. This could be a lifestyle choice to live rough or “off grid”. Others may leave to escape trauma, conflict or a relationship breakdown.

Some young people may be seeking to assert independence and choose not to share their whereabouts.

However some disappearances sit somewhere between “intentional” and “unintentional”. For example, people (mainly women) may go missing while escaping family and domestic violence and seeking emergency accommodation.

People with complex mental health conditions or those at risk of suicide may vanish to cope with psychological distress – and it may not feel like a choice.

Who is most at risk?

In 2023, 54% of the 56,000 missing person reports police received related to young people aged between 13 and 17 years.

Some people are more at risk of self-harm or exploitation when missing. These include:

When disappearance is a health issue, not a crime

Going missing is not a crime. Yet in Australia, it’s police who are responsible for investigating missing person cases.

Police focus on searching for and finding the missing person. They are not trained mental health counsellors and have limited capacity to explore the underlying story, unless a crime has been committed.

This can further entrench public perception that missing person cases usually centre on a crime.

Using a public health approach would better help us understand and address why people go missing in the first place.

When someone is reported missing, the response could combine police, health services and agencies – such as child protection services – from the start.

Changing how we talk about disappearance

The way the public engages with missing person stories also influences how the media report them.

The community is more likely to engage in a simple story of lost and found. But this can mythologise disappearances, elevating some cases while ignoring others – who may be in equal need of a media platform.

This attention can also focus on “ideal victims”. In contrast, missing cases involving women of colour, people experiencing homelessness, sex workers, and people with mental illness or substance use disorders are often under-reported and or negatively portrayed.

The recent findings of the 2024 senate inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and children found public attention often overlooks missing people who are not viewed as newsworthy or shareworthy. This can negatively affect recovery efforts, the resources invested, and community support for those left behind.

Until we recognise the inequalities underpinning many missing person cases – including trauma, colonisation, health service gaps and poverty – we will continue to see a rise in missing persons reports.

We need to get better at recognising and responding to distress, before people go missing, and adequately fund mental health and trauma services.

Read more: Just $7 extra per person could prevent 300 suicides a year. Here's exactly where to spend it

If you believe a person’s safety and wellbeing is at risk, and their whereabouts are unknown, you can access information from the Australian Federal Police or visit your local police station.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.