TOPEKA – Today, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) revealed a new website aimed at increasing the public’s involvement with Kansas missing persons cases.
The new missing persons website can be viewed at www.kbi.ks.gov/missingpersons. Unlike several national or non-profit missing person sites, the search tool is specific to missing person cases that originated in Kansas. The website provides a current and comprehensive listing of all those reported missing throughout Kansas.
The new site allows for searches by a missing person’s name, or by Kansas county. You can also search based on demographics such as name, gender, age, or the date the missing person was last seen. When using the site, individuals are able to submit tips, information, and sightings directly to the KBI. Anonymous tips are encouraged as well. Once information is reported, the KBI will either evaluate and investigate the information, or forward the lead to the law enforcement agency that is investigating the missing person case.
“We know from experience that tips from the public provide a great advantage to law enforcement in locating missing Kansans, and we hope this website increases our interactions with citizens who wish to help,” said KBI Director Kirk Thompson.
Also featured on the new website are recommendations for how to report someone who has gone missing, and valuable safety information and resources. The site also has links to the Kansas AMBER Alert and Silver Alert websites.
Law enforcement agencies are allowed greater access to additional features of the website so they can update missing person cases in their jurisdictions, compare case profiles, and upload photographs of the missing. When creating the website the KBI worked with law enforcement agencies to ensure it would be a useful resource in missing persons cases, and to teach them how to update the profiles of those missing from their communities.
“Currently missing in Kansas are 295 adults and 280 juveniles. Behind each missing person is a family with unanswered questions. It is our hope that this website will become a valuable tool that aids law enforcement in answering the many questions that arise when an individual goes missing,” said Thompson.