MovieChat Forums > Without a Trace (2002) Discussion > 24 hrs 'missing'

24 hrs 'missing'

posted 11 years ago by robfwoods
4 replies | jump to latest

I thought 'missing persons' investigations only started after 24 hours - or was that some phony 'rule' in the old cop shows?

In WAT they often start the case after 2-3 hours.

From Wiki:

A common misconception is that a person must be absent for at least 24 hours before being legally classed as missing, but this is rarely the case; in instances where there is evidence of violence or of an unusual absence, law enforcement agencies often stress the importance of beginning an investigation promptly

[–] The_Sedgwicks_Daughter 11 years ago

OMG, I was also wondering the same thing while I was watching an episode today, it was about a mother and infant son going missing from a building, and when it showed '3 hours missing' I thought WTF?? She might have accidentally locked herself in a toilet cubicle for all we know! but surely not 'missing'!. The plot of the whole show suddenly decreased to a new low for me, but just to look on the safe side since I do enjoy watching some of the scenarios and their outcomes, I'd think that given the circumstances some of the victims find themselves in maybe the situation gets reported to the police and they begin to somehow tie it into why and how they haven't been seen?

[–] TeOfLeDiKi 11 years ago

When the missing person is a child or infant, the investigation starts immediately upon report.

neat . . . sweet . . . petite

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] thestrangebeauty 11 years ago

I think the rules are a bit more complicated.

If its a child, it starts right away. However, if the child/teen has runaway before its likely that they will wait a little while.

But then, if its am adult, they are legally allowed to drop everything and leave "without a trace" whenever they choose, do there has to be a good amount of evidence that something bad has happened first.

So basically I think the 24 hour rule exists depending on the case.