What happens when someone goes missing

Some people who get lost by choice, according to Masterton police Senior Sergeant Warwick Burr, are able to tell searchers to do the same. "Some don't want to be found but we still have to look for them and that obviously affects the whole process," he said.
Mr Burr was questioned this week about police procedures with missing persons in the wake of the disappearance of Masterton teenager Kelly Clark. Miss Clark has since contacted police to confirm she is safe.
According to police report forms regarding a missing person, if the person is located and they choose to "not want their whereabouts disclosed to family or friends", under the Privacy Act their wishes must be respected. "If this is the case, we will advise you that the missing person has been located, is not in any danger, but does not want to be located. The Missing Person file will also be closed," the form says.
Police are, however, automatically responsible once they find a person reported missing who is 13 or younger and that "caring and protecting them can mean force at times", Mr Burr said.
"In the case of a 30-year-old man though, who has taken off from family, it is different. If police come across him and he tells us to get lost, then providing he is safe we would leave him to it and unless he appears to have mental issues there is little we can do."
Mr Burr was speaking in the wake of a report filed about Masterton woman Kelly Ann Clark, 17, who was reported missing on Wednesday after leaving her Lansdowne family home on an afternoon trip to a nearby dairy.
He said several people have been in contact with the teenager since Wednesday but police still need to speak with anyone who may know where she is staying. "There have been a couple of cases in the last few weeks where young girls have been reported missing and they've turned up safe and sound but not wanting to be found," he said.
"It could be the pressures of exams that are on right now maybe or it could just be coincidence. Whatever their reasons we still need to find them and ensure they're safe."
The initial police response to a report of a missing person depends on circumstances surrounding the disappearance and on the person reported missing, including their last known mental and physical state, he said. "It can be a fine line between a bona fide missing person and a kid not home at six for tea, then they turn up an hour later. Everything depends on immediate assessment and on moving at the right time," he said. "But if we have a 3-year-old go missing it's all hands to the pump.
"Or if someone is missing for an undue period of time without making contact when they would normally be in touch or there are suspicious circumstances, the level of inquiry ramps up."
Once a report is made all police staff are alerted and photos of the missing person are made available on file.
"Police officers don't carry photos around with them but they do have a clear description of the missing person and can access file photos."
At the outset of any inquiry, he said, police find out where the person was last seen and contact all friends and family. Information about the missing person is gathered, he said, including name, age, gender, ethnicity, height, weight, build, hair and eye colour, clothing worn when last seen, scars, birthmarks, deformities or tattoos, and details on school or employer, medical and banking information.
The initial report will also include who to contact when the missing person is found and the place and circumstances they were last seen, possible whereabouts or destination, their friends and associates and whether they had ever been reported missing before.
Authority is sought from the family for publication of descriptions and pictures if this is deemed necessary to aid the search, he said.
Mr Burr said although there is a criminal charge of harbouring a runaway that could be laid given the "right circumstances", there is also a charge of obstructing police that a person could face "if they say they haven't seen the missing person, when they have". "The inquiry from beginning to end is based on common sense and information as it comes to hand. What we find out and what we're told dictates what action we take next."