The secret helpers trying to find Brits who go missing every 90 seconds
Why this piece is here
This feature explains Missing People’s network of ‘secret helpers’. James is a trustee and non-executive director of the charity and sits on its finance committee. The feature names London Search and Rescue, where he is a search operations manager and volunteer search technician, as one of the organisations in that network, and quotes him on how the team uses the charity’s briefings.
Summary
This feature, part of the Mirror’s Christmas 2024 appeal for Missing People, looks at the charity’s Safeguarding Briefing Network: some 2,000 organisations, from libraries and soup kitchens to places of worship, that keep an eye out for people reported missing. One person goes missing every 90 seconds in the UK, and a public appeal is not always the safest way to find someone escaping domestic abuse or struggling with their mental health.
London Search and Rescue is one of them, and James, quoted as a senior team leader, explains how it works. The team receives “covert live updates regarding vulnerable individuals across London”. These give its search managers heightened awareness of live cases, help them work with the police and other emergency services, and leave the team ready if it is called out. Trained search technicians can recognise someone in daily life and act to keep them safe.
Three key points
- For someone escaping domestic abuse or struggling with their mental health, a public appeal may not be the safest route.
- Live briefings give search managers heightened awareness of a case, so the team is ready if the police call it out.
- Search technicians trained in missing person behaviour can recognise someone in everyday life and act to keep them safe.
Read the full article
This page summarises the feature. The full text is published on the Mirror’s website, with more on how Missing People’s network works and how anyone can join it.
Insights
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Explore your own question further
In a particular organisation, the detail can change how these points apply. James is happy to hear from anyone weighing them up for their own board, charity or volunteer team. This page summarises a newspaper feature published elsewhere, and is not advice on any particular situation.