Many people go missing each year. Some are young children who wander off and get lost; some are elderly people who are either confused or fall ill and cannot get home. Limited police resources mean that only a small number of officers can be deployed on the street to search for them. Sometimes they are found too late.
There is a way to help. If there were a group of trained volunteer Neighbourhood Watch Members, prepared to turn out at short notice to search a specified area, this would release police officers to make other enquiries. NW volunteers, unlike friends and neighbours who sometimes make a search, would be coordinated and trained to search thoroughly and safely.
NW volunteers would working in small teams covering a predetermined area, such as a particular street or open space. Such a method would mean that areas would be searched thoroughly and no area would be searched twice by accidents. Even if nothing is found it would still help the police as it will allow them to cross off the area from their search. Volunteers would need to be reasonably fit with good mobility. However a good search would be conducted at a slow methodical pace not at a sprint.
This idea has been discussed with the police and they would be keen to follow it up if the volunteers were willing and available. 20 or 30 people working in 4 or 5 teams, properly coordinated could search quite large areas very quickly.
If you are interested and willing to give it a try please contact Dave Lawson on 01943 877606, or Dave@dl999.co.uk.
If there is sufficient interest, NW volunteers would make a difference to the way searches are conducted and the relatives of missing people would appreciate their efforts.