Missing and Unidentified Persons Awareness

Written By: Natalie Lanphear, Advocate

The month of May is dedicated to Missing and Unidentified Persons Awareness. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, there are over 600,000 people who go missing in our country every year. Although a large amount of these individuals are found, there are still thousands who stay missing for over a year. To break the numbers down even further, around 4,400 unidentified bodies are found each year. Close to 1,000 of the bodies found are still unidentified after one year (NamUs).

Many of these cases with individuals who are missing for over a year are considered “cold cases.” A cold case is defined as “an unsolved criminal investigation which remains open pending the discovery of new evidence.” Thousands of families and friends of missing persons will wait years to have these cold cases cracked. Sometimes they never receive answers about what happened to their loved ones.

Offering support to these families and friends is monumental in these oftentimes long periods of confusion and hurt. One way to offer support for families and friends is to simply listen to their stories of their loved ones. Listen to the memories they hold dearly. Listen to their pain. Another way to help is by contacting your local law enforcement agency with any tips you may have regarding a case of a missing or unidentified person. Your information could bring detectives one step closer to solving a case. Families and friends deserve to know the truth about their loved ones. This month, we honor them and their search for that truth.

For more information visit NamUs.

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Testimonials

"With the help of VSS, you are empowered and encouraged to fight back and be pro-active. Then your conscience can be more at peace because you know you have taken some action to protest crimes inflicted on your loved one. It is sometimes your only consolation."

“The one takeaway for me in working with VSS is that it is a necessary organization. I know they are funded by grants and fundraisers but it’s something we need to make sure as a community that they have the funding needed because what they do for people in need doesn’t happen anywhere else. This is the only place that this happens and VSS helps with so many things.”

David Rose

Anchor, Q13 News and Host, Washington’s Most Wanted

“VSS is there when the unthinkable happens.  When a police officer knocks on your door and gives you tragic news, VSS helps navigate the court system, which can be very confusing. VSS is compassion, caring, and commitment. Commitment to once justice is done that victims and their families can move forward with their lives.”

Jennifer Gregerson

Mayor, City of Mukilteo

“VSS has been our partner in recovery and healing and a key part in what makes Mukilteo Strong. VSS has been a trusted advocate for the victims that have suffered so much in the community.  I’m so grateful to VSS as our partner in strength.”

Jon Nehring

Mayor, City of Marysville

“VSS is there for people in their darkest hour. At a time when they need an advocate and friend, VSS steps in to fill that gap and help them begin their journey back to some sense of normalcy.” 

Myrle Carner

Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound

“This thing about closure. There is never really closure in a victim’s life but VSS helps individuals to get closer to that and that’s critical because the cops and the judicial system just move on to another case because they don’t have time. Victims live with this trauma forever so VSS is with them for as long as they need the services. VSS takes the time, more importantly, they really care."

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