The Department of Communities and Justice has marked 20 years since the establishment of its Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit (FFMPU) which provides support for family members faced with the unfamiliar and overwhelming task of living with a missing loved one.
Commissioner of Victims Rights, Michelle Vaughan said the FFMPU team was committed to improving the knowledge and understanding of issues related to missing people, and increasing awareness of the experience and impact on those who had been left behind.
“Over the past two decades, the service has helped hundreds of people as they come to terms with the challenge of living with ‘not knowing’ what has happened to their loved one,” Ms Vaughan said.
“Thankfully, the majority of missing persons are located almost immediately,” she said.
“However, around one per cent go onto become long term missing persons.”
Ms Vaughan said that as of June 2020, NSW Police disclosed there had been a total of 3,430 reports of missing persons this year, with 62 still outstanding.
“While the initial search is often the part of the journey that is most reported, it is a subject people rarely talk about which is where we step in,” she said.
“While we do not search for people, we work collaboratively with agencies like police to provide services to address the trauma and loss associated with having a loved one go missing,” Ms Vaughan said.
