How, where, when, and what to say when filing a missing person report in Tennessee.

When filing a missing person report in Tennessee (or anywhere in the United States), the report should be filed with law enforcement at the missing person’s last known location.

Anyone can file a missing person report. Filing is not limited only to the family of the missing person.

There is a common myth that you must wait three days after the person goes missing to file a missing person report; this is incorrect. If you have true reason to believe the person is missing, then do not delay reporting them as a missing person to law enforcement. Some officers may try to tell you there is a requirement to wait but do not take no for an answer if you honestly believe the person is missing. Below is a screenshot of the Nashville Police Department policies and procedures on missing persons. Section 15.60.020 states:

This initial response information report is not an actual missing person report. This is the information you provide the officer, who will determine if the information suggests the person is missing.

What you provide in the initial report is crucial because this will be used to determine if law enforcement believes the person is an actual missing person. Often reporting parties will leave out information about mental health issues, possible crimes involved, thoughts of suicide, and other sensitive information, thinking they are protecting the missing person and their privacy. It’s important to understand (particularly with adults) that people are allowed to go missing. We all have a right to privacy. So unless you can demonstrate that their missing status is an “at risk” behavior, it will not be elevated to a critical missing status. This means that law enforcement will not search for the missing person. Law enforcement will search for critical missing persons because they are deemed in great danger if they are not found. A missing person not considered critical will not be searched for by law enforcement.

After you file the initial report, the officer taking the information report will make a determination if the person is really missing. The reason for this is many people call the police with missing person reports because they are trying to locate a person, not because they are really missing. They abuse the system to find an ex or a friend that has disappeared from their life after a falling out. When it’s determined that the missing person information received is legitimate, then it’s entered into the law enforcement database and NCIC (National Crime Information Center) and becomes an official missing person case. Again from the policies and procedures of the Nashville Police Department.

At this point, there is an official missing person report that has an NCIC case number. A detective should be assigned to the case, and an investigation should be started. If the person has any interaction with law enforcement nationwide, they will be flagged as a missing person in NCIC.

The degree of investigation and actual searching that will take place by law enforcement or search and rescue is very much on a case-by-case basis. Sadly, the statistics are underwhelming. Law enforcement is overwhelmed with cases and understaffed, and budgets are continually cut. This is where hiring a private investigator or private search and rescue agency like ours (SEARCH Investigations) is an option. Yes, it is expensive to hire a private firm. However, by doing so, you have dedicated investigators and searchers without the red tape of government agencies who still work in coordination with law enforcement.

At SEARCH Investigations, we utilize technology and manpower to find your missing loved one. We coordinate searches and utilized technology such as thermal drones and can coordinate private K9 teams for scent tracking. In Tennessee and Alabama, we can also conduct surveillance, interviews of possible suspects (if a crime is possibly involved in the disappearance) and utilize license plate readers and other databases that are only available to law enforcement and licensed investigators. We can conduct search and rescue ground and air searches in every state. Our team lead, Steve Fischer, is a NASAR SARTECH certified search and rescue ground search technician, a commercial licensed FAA search and rescue fixed-wing pilot, and an FAA-licensed commercial drone pilot. Steve Fischer is also a licensed private investigator in multiple states.

Call us 24/7 at 1-877-619-9890 or contact us by email here. We are ready to deploy on short notice.

Search and Rescue ground and air searches for missing person cases are available in all fifty states—private investigation services are available in Tennessee, Alabama, and states with reciprocity.