Melissa Martinez with the San Antonio Police Department's Missing Persons Unit answers some of the most common questions or comments SAPD gets about missing persons cases.
Is there a 24 or 48 hour wait period to report someone missing?
Under Texas law, there is no waiting period. A missing persons report can be taken based upon circumstance or situation - mental conditions, medical conditions.
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Does the Missing Persons Unit work with other units within SAPD and other agencies?
We work very closely with the homicide unit and our SVU unit. We also work with outside agencies - sheriff's agencies, Texas Rangers, all of them. FBI, Marshals.
Can SAPD "ping" a cell phone to find someone?
The San Antonio Police Department has that ability to do so. It's based upon emergency situations - eminent danger to a person and that has to be proven. We need to know that that person is in danger. That's not something that is just done because someone isn't accounted for for a few minutes or a few hours. That person has to be in a situation where their life is in eminent danger.
If a juvenile has runaway from home and wants to stay with you, are you breaking the law?
That citizen can be charged with harboring. They are interfering in someone else's parental rights. Everyone deserves to have their child at home with them. If there's a problem that that child isn't at home with their parent and someone thinks that they should be interfering, they need to interfere in another way. They need to call law enforcement, they need to call Child Protective Services. They should not harbor a runaway. There are other means, other options available than keeping someone else's child inside your home and hiding them.
Will SAPD take a missing persons report if there's a child custody case pending?
The San Antonio Police Department deals with criminal issues. Custody issues are family law, civil law and it's not something that we normally involve ourselves in.
Who can be entered as a missing person?
Anyone can be entered as a missing person. It's not based on any circumstances. If someone is missing, if you can't find them, you can call law enforcement and we will get the information necessary to enter them into NCIC (National Crime Information Center)/TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center). Those are national and state databases for law enforcement to share information.
What information is needed to report a person missing?
The more information, the better. We need the full name, date of birth, height, weight, what they were last seen wearing, a good clean photograph from the shoulders up is helpful so we can create a flyer for you. We can take that flyer, hand it out to friends, family, post it in the area, any information is more information. We need to pack the record as much as possible.
What kind of photo of the missing person is needed?
We have used very, very, very small pictures as small as school IDs and we have minimized very large family portrait pictures. We will use what we have and try to work with whatever's available to us. The most important thing is getting the photo out there, getting the information out there so we can find whoever is missing.
What resources will SAPD use to find missing persons?
We will use social media. We will look for people on various websites. We will have family post the flyers on various websites - anything to get the information out there.
What do parents need to know right now?
Know your child. Know who they're hanging out with. Know where they're going. If your child wants to go see a friend, drive your child there. Know the home, the address, jot it down. When your child goes missing, if your child goes missing, have some addresses to check. Have the police go with you to check them out. At least have some information available. You have the right as the parent to know who your child is talking to (through social media sites), who your child is with. Use that right. Get to know your child better.
Why don't all missing persons cases appear on television?
Because there are so many people reported as missing or runaway each day, we try to use the media for those cases that truly need it. I think it really needs to be reserved for those that have mental issues or the elderly or very small children, those that have special needs should be reserved for the media. They need to have that attention focused on them. It needs to be something that isn't so common place.