Missing them- Narre Warren Police station commander Senior Sergeant Steve Wood says police get missing people reports every week and urges parents to keep tabs on their own children. 68456

By Lia Bichel
DISTRAUGHT parents and worried family members call Casey police every week reporting a missing person, Narre Warren Police Station commander Senior Sergeant Steve Wood says.
“It can be a very distressing time for relatives when their family goes missing,” Sen Sgt Wood said.
“But we take each call very seriously.”
Sen Sgt Wood’s comments came after Victoria Police joined an Australia-wide campaign as part of National Missing Persons Week to help highlight the impact of missing persons on family, friends the community.
In February this year, Cranbourne woman Jo-Ann Adams spoke out about the anguish she felt after her 17-year-old son Gary went missing in 2003.
Police re-opened the case into Gary’s disappearance and offered a $100,000 reward for public information to help solve the case.
His case is not isolated.
A total of 7280 people went missing in Victoria in 2010-’11. Of those, 4139 missing persons in Victoria were aged 17 or younger and more than 3000 were aged 18 or over. Sen Sgt Wood said local cases varied from elderly people with mental illnesses to teenagers who are victims of social bullying and feel isolated.
“A lot of kids who don’t go home are victims of cyber bullying or other social difficulties,” Sen Sgt Wood said.
“We would urge parents to keep in touch with their kids. If parents are worried when their kids don’t come home we would tell them to call us.
“They can also check with local friends, relatives, check the local hangouts and put a call out on Facebook – it’s a great way of finding missing kids.”
Sen Sgt Wood said each missing person case was assigned to an investigator within 24 hours and monitored daily.
He said the supervisor checked all active missing reports on the third, seventh, 14th, 30th and 60th day.
If the case remained unsolved, the report was passed on to the Criminal Investigation Unit.
Sen Sgt Wood said most missing people were found within 24 hours and he was unaware of any local outstanding reports.
Detective Superintendent Brett Guerin said Victoria Police had concerns for a small number of unresolved cases across the state and were appealing to anyone with information, or anyone who suspected they may be reported as a missing person, to make contact.
“Any small piece of information can help police in a missing persons case.
“It may be a possible sighting or another small detail that could be the final link police need,” he said.
To report someone missing, contact local police.
If it is an emergency situation, such as a child or elderly person who has gone missing, call Triple-zero for immediate assistance.
Anyone who has information about a person who has been reported missing is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
National Missing Persons Week is an annual campaign co-ordinated by the Australian Federal Police and the National Missing Persons Co-ordination Centre to raise awareness of the significant issues associated with missing persons in Australia.
More profiles of missing Victorians can be found at www.missingpersons.gov.au