Exclusive: 29 missing people reports made every day in NI since 2013

Since 2013 in Northern Ireland, there have been 29 missing person reports an hour on average.

PSNI
Published 13th Apr 2017

Exclusive figures obtained by DTR/Cool FM show there have been over 43,000 reported instances in that period.

Sadly there were 87 deaths among those stats.

Last year saw a four year spike in figures, with nearly 12,000 cases recorded.

The figures were as follows:

  • 43,353 cases reported since January 2013
  • 50 cases still remain open
  • 87 fatalities recorded at the end of searches
PSNI

Beyond that a number of high profile reports are still unresolved, including those of Lisa Dorrian, Arlene Arkinson and Gerard Conway.

In terms of area, the most incidents were recorded in the Belfast and Derry City and Strabane districts.

Belfast saw 11,995 reports, while Derry City and Strabane saw 4,414 reports.

The number of instances has steadily risen since 2013.

A recent high profile case saw hundreds of people in Londonderry join the campaign to 'Get Jack Back' after Jack Glenn went missing in February.

The 23-year-old's body was recovered from the River Foyle last month.

In Northern Ireland, an application to the courts for declaration of death can be made any time after a person has been reported missing, or if the person has not been known to be alive for at least seven years.

If you wish to contact us with your own or your family's experience, you can email news@downtown.co.uk or tweet us at @newsoncool or @newsondowntown.