Into thin air

Each year, Chicago adds to its list of those unaccounted for. In 2012, almost 15,000 missing-person cases were filed, with 16,000 reported the year prior. Of those, 14 remained unaccounted for from 2011, and 54 remained missing from 2012.

Nationally, there are about 87,000 active missing persons in the U.S., according to FBI statistics. The missing are found alive 98 percent of the time in Chicago, CPD estimates, but the remaining cases leave families like Starnes’ relying on tips, the media and continued police check-ins for hope of a reunion.

While CPD handles all missing persons on a case-by-case basis, there are specific protocols in place in the department to log and track the incidents. All of them have one thing in common—they all begin with a concerned party who has to decide when to turn to the police for help.

“It comes down to common sense and good judgment,” said Chicago Police Central Investigations Unit Commander Eugene Roy of families and friends who suspect a loved one may have gone missing. “If this is totally out of character, if the person was disturbed, it’s something you call immediately on.”

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