What Is A Missing Person?
A person is considered missing when someone reports to the police that they are not reasonably aware of the whereabouts of the missing person. The reason for the person being missing can be due to a variety of circumstances. The person could be missing due to being:
- A runaway
- Abducted
- Lost
- Unknown Circumstances
All police departments are required to take a report of a missing person. There is no requirement that a time limit needs to expire prior to the reporting of a missing person. Every report of a missing person is assigned a detective from the Missing Persons Unit. That detective has the primary responsibility to investigate and manage the case.
The police department that has jurisdiction in investigating a missing person case is the department that has jurisdiction over the residence of the missing person. If a person lives in another city and becomes missing while visiting San Jose, the reporting person can make a missing report with San Jose Police. San Jose Police will ensure that that person is entered into the national Missing Person System and police radio broadcasts are made. An initial investigation may be started as appropriate. If the person is not located the case will be transferred to the agency that has jurisdiction. The San Jose Police Department will assist that agency with the investigation as requested.
Once a missing person is located that person will be removed from the national database and the case will be closed. In some cases a person is reported missing and the investigation reveals that the person is either purposely keeping their whereabouts secret from the reporting person, or is transient and has no permanent location. In these cases the person is determined to be a Voluntary Missing Adult, and the case is closed.
It is sometimes important to understand that being a missing person is not a crime. The missing person report does not give the police any greater authority then they would normally have over any other citizen. In the absence of any other authority, we cannot force a missing person to return based solely on the missing person report. Many times in these sort of cases we can provide the reporting party with referral agencies that may be able to help with a person who refuses to return.
The San Jose Police Department is committed to the locating of persons who have been reported as missing. The missing person’s community of family and friends are our greatest source of information that many times leads to the locating of the missing person. It is this cooperative spirit that creates a lifeline for the missing person, and results in a very high percentage of the cases being successfully closed with the missing person safely home.
The San Jose Police Department Missing Persons Unit
The San Jose Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit is tasked with investigating reports of missing persons within our jurisdiction. The Unit coordinates these investigations with other officers within SJPD, as well as other Law Enforcement Agencies. These other agencies may include the FBI in some cases, and the State Department of Justice. The Unit also works closely with several private organizations in an effort to locate people who have been reported missing.
The investigation of missing person cases takes priority over cases involving property crime. This is especially true when a case involves a missing person who is believed to be at risk. Every report of a missing person is assigned to a detective for investigation. Many of the persons who have been reported as missing are located very quickly.
Currently the Unit investigates over four thousand missing person cases a year. These case types include:
- Runaway Juveniles
- Non – Family Abductions
- Lost Persons
- Voluntary Missing Adults
- Parental Abductions
- Unknown Circumstances
Reports of missing persons can be made by calling 311, or 911 in emergency cases.
Reports can also be made at the Police Department’s main lobby. (See address listed below).
Reports of missing US Citizens traveling in foreign countries can be directed to: