New group aiming to improve finding missing persons

A new group has been formed at the state level under the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the goal of which is to examine how missing persons cases are investigated in Ohio and to provide recommendations for improvement.

The 24-member Missing Persons Working Group, which includes New Philadelphia Police Chief Tessa Pohovey, is led by Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Pohovey attended the group’s first meeting in Columbus Jan. 23.

Some of the issues the state is asking the group to examine include the potential need for additional training or staffing, better access to crime databases, improved investigative tactics and joining forces with nonprofits.

Investigative journalism started the ball rolling

Reporters Max Filby and Danae King from the Columbus Dispatch conducted an eight-month investigation into how missing persons cases are handled in Ohio. Their findings culminated in a series of articles called “Vanished,” and their work got the attention of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Filby and King presented findings to the MPWG during the Jan. 23 meeting, the highlights of which included the following:

—An estimated 660,000 Americans go missing every year nationwide.

—In 2023, 22,374 Ohioans were reported missing, an increase of 17.6% from the number reported in 2021.

—On any given day, roughly 1,000 Ohioans are listed as missing by the Attorney General’s Office.

—A mismanaged and underused Amber Alert system, noting that just 13 of 17,405 children reported missing in 2023 received Amber Alerts.

Filby and King pointed out that even in light of these numbers, only about 2% of basic training for most Ohio law-enforcement officers is devoted to missing persons and human trafficking.

The reporters also said most children who go missing are labeled runaways, which can delay efforts to find them. Of the 366 Ohio children the state listed as being missing for a year or more, the reporters found law enforcement failed to enter 327 (89%) of missing kids into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Putting faces to the numbers

Family members of several missing Ohioans shared their personal stories in trying to find lost loved ones.

Linda Summers of Cleveland spoke about her granddaughter Ashley Summers, who has been missing since July 7, 2007.

“I was told she ran away from her great-uncle’s house,” Linda Summers said. “Her official missing person’s photo wasn’t circulated until five months later, and her mother was told, ‘Don’t worry about it — she’ll be back.’”

Linda Summers also presented her thoughts on ways the system of finding missing persons could be improved in the state and across the nation.

“A lot of people don’t know you don’t have to wait 24 hours to submit a police report,” she said. “Families wait, and some families are told to wait, but the first 48 hours are still the most critical in finding a missing person.”

“Hearing the personal stories is impactful,” Pohovey said. “We don’t forget that the families are victims, but it makes even more real to hear the stories and see the pain they’re feeling.”

For Pohovey, the family experiences also brought to the forefront some gaps in the system.

“There are some major statistics issues that need to get sorted out, and communications with family members could be better in larger cities,” she said.

Pohovey also thinks the Missing Children Clearing House database recently added by the Attorney General’s Office will help not just other cities, but also New Philadelphia, should a challenging case arise.

“I think a big part of solving these cases is going to be a collaborative effort,” Pohovey said. “It’s not going to be just law enforcement. It’s going to be other organizations, and it’s going to be the families.”

The MPWG is scheduled to meet five more times and is expected to issue recommendations at the end of April.