National Missing Persons Day is observed on February 3rd every year, and 2023 is no exception. It is celebrated in order to create awareness about the hundreds of unsolved missing person cases across the United States!
This is a subject that is not something that we can easily prepare ourselves for, because we truly never know who, when or how a loved one could go missing. When any person goes missing, everyone no matter what age is just as vulnerable. It could be an adult or infant. Statistics show that women are more likely to vanish than men, and seniors are also at just as high risk. Other environments such as health risks, natural disasters, unforeseeable situations, being held against will, are just a few events that dominate the reason. We are much more fortunate to have tools such as the world-wide web, texting, social media, networking and video surveillance–unlike the tedious and laborious processes of past! New tools have greatly eased the numerous ways to render our help to the families suffering such a loss. Nonetheless, this happens, and when it does, the families and friends are devastated. The amount varies from state to state, and sometimes has to do with populations, with a U.S. state average being 304 cases per year.
Map Information Available by the Department – Reports 2021 to 2023:
Map © 2023 Versatileer
The Latest Information Available by the Department – Reports 2021 to 2023:
| MISSING PERSONS REPORTS BY STATE – ENDING 2023 ‡ | ||
| State | Missing Total | Missing(p/100k) |
| California | 2,133 | 5.30 |
| Florida | 1,252 | 5.60 |
| Texas | 1,246 | 4.11 |
| Arizona | 915 | 12.40 |
| Washington | 643 | 8.04 |
| New York | 606 | 2.96 |
| Michigan | 556 | 5.49 |
| Oregon | 432 | 9.91 |
| Pennsylvania | 401 | 3.06 |
| Tennessee | 361 | 5.10 |
| Ohio | 358 | 3.01 |
| North Carolina | 327 | 3.05 |
| Illinois | 317 | 2.48 |
| Missouri | 316 | 5.09 |
| Alaska | 309 | 41.74 |
| New Jersey | 299 | 3.17 |
| Colorado | 292 | 4.87 |
| Louisiana | 266 | 5.67 |
| Oklahoma | 252 | 6.27 |
| Georgia | 250 | 2.27 |
| Kentucky | 248 | 5.44 |
| Virginia | 239 | 2.71 |
| Alabama | 204 | 4.00 |
| Arkansas | 200 | 6.58 |
| Connecticut | 197 | 5.45 |
| Nevada | 192 | 5.95 |
| South Carolina | 184 | 3.49 |
| Maryland | 183 | 2.91 |
| Minnesota | 179 | 3.07 |
| Indiana | 174 | 2.53 |
| Wisconsin | 149 | 2.50 |
| New Mexico | 143 | 6.70 |
| Massachusetts | 126 | 1.76 |
| West Virginia | 120 | 6.76 |
| Mississippi | 115 | 3.89 |
| Maine | 108 | 7.87 |
| Utah | 107 | 3.13 |
| Hawaii | 107 | 7.21 |
| Idaho | 101 | 5.26 |
| Iowa | 86 | 2.66 |
| Kansas | 81 | 2.73 |
| Montana | 71 | 6.38 |
| Nebraska | 61 | 3.05 |
| Delaware | 58 | 5.70 |
| Vermont | 54 | 8.33 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 7.75 |
| New Hampshire | 35 | 2.51 |
| North Dakota | 31 | 3.82 |
| South Dakota | 23 | 2.53 |
| Rhode Island | 20 | 1.80 |
| TOTAL | 15,172 | 274.06 |
| ‡ ENDING 2023 (The latest figures match last year’s and are labelled “2023”–They are the latest figures available from the department). | ||
Missing Persons Reports by State:
Missing Persons State Rankings per 100K Missing:
Resources for Missing Persons:
National Database for Missing Persons:
The “Most Wanted” List for Kidnapping & Missing Persons, FBI List:
The Official Website of The Department of Justice Missing Persons Unit:
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My prayers to anyone who has every been affected in any way, shape or manner.
Dibakar Roy at Pexels
National Missing Person Day
I think having a missing person is the most horrible thing imaginable. You have nothing to do but wonder, day after day, year after year. I feel that even if a loved one’s deceased body is found, it’s not as bad as not knowing, having that eternal question mark in your head and heart. When a person goes missing, there is never even a chance of closure. Prayers for all those suffering.