How do I make a missing persons report?

Go to a district police station and make a report in person. You will need to sign the report.

Can’t I make a missing persons report by calling 911 or 311?

No.

How long must I wait to make a missing persons report?

There is no mandatory waiting period. Common sense should be your guide. Please keep in mind that even people who are regular in their habits can get stuck in traffic, caught in a long line at the supermarket, or they can run into an old friend on the way home from work. Circumstances like these can cause unexpected departures from normal schedules. Please allow for these kinds of circumstances before making a report.

I’m in a different city. I can’t come to a Chicago police station to report my missing relative or friend.

You can find another person who is able to come to a district station and make the report for you. We will accept a third-party report

I’ve lost contact with my relative, whom I haven’t seen in many years. No one in my family seems to know where she is, or what became of her. I know she used to live in Chicago. Can you help me find her?

As much as we would like to help, we are unable to respond to situations involving lost relatives or friends. The individual must fall within our definition of a missing person for us to investigate.

My relative or friend doesn’t live in Chicago, but was planning to spend time there. I haven’t heard from this person, and I want to make a missing persons report.

If a missing person doesn’t live in Chicago, the appropriate place to make a report is where the person lives. The police department in that location will contact us as appropriate.

What is the Chicago Police Department’s definition of a missing person?

A missing juvenile is a person under 17 years of age whose whereabouts are unknown by a person having the responsibility for his welfare. A missing adult is a person seventeen years or older whose whereabouts are unknown by close family members, friends, or associates; the absence is unaccounted for; and unusual circumstances exist surrounding the absence.

Who can report a missing person? Must it be a family member?

In the case of a juvenile, the person having responsibility for the juvenile’s welfare is the appropriate person to make a missing person report. That will usually be the parent or guardian. In the case of an adult, anyone who knows the individual well enough to make a reasonable inference that the individual is missing can make a missing persons report. That means someone who knows the individual’s usual activities, schedule, and whereabouts.