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THE county's police force and a voluntary helpline have joined forces to provide a better system for locating missing persons.

The new initiative means that Cheshire Police will accept all reports of missing persons who disappear within the county, whatever the circumstances. And they will pass on the details to the National Missing Persons Helpline, which can offer additional lines of assistance, particularly where the missing person is deemed to be vulnerable or where there is an absence of suspicious circumstances.

Currently there is no national definitive record of missing persons, although the Police National Missing Persons Bureau records details of people deemed to be vulnerable who have been absent for more than 14 days.
The bureau, which was set up in 1994, also records unidentified bodies, foreign nationals missing in the UK and Britons missing abroad.
But the public only tend to report missing people when they think them vulnerable or their absence appears inexplicable. In the most extreme circumstances, when someone who has not been reported missing is injured, identification and family tracing can be difficult.

The new initiative will create a protocol where police and the voluntary sector work together to ensure that the best possible records are kept of people who disappear. And the goal will be to locate as many missing persons as possible, check their well-being and offer as much reassurance as possible to anxious family and friends.

Assistant Chief Constable Graeme Gerrard said: "This initiative may not always reunite people, but it is a step forward in providing reassurance that missing people are known about and that their safety and well-being remains a priority."

Anyone who wishes to contact the National Missing Persons Helpline can call 0800 700 740.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.

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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the standard procedure followed by his Department is in dealing with cases of UK citizens who have (a) disappeared and (b) been murdered abroad. [98455]
26 Feb 2003 : Column 592W
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Enquirers concerned about the whereabouts of British Nationals abroad are advised to contact the police in the country concerned, and also to report the missing person to their local UK Police. Consular staff in the UK and overseas keep relatives informed of progress and liaise with local authorities, including to consider institution of a search.
(. . .) Any investigation would be conducted by the local authorities.

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While his sister has now arrived in India to try and track her missing brother, the story raises questions about documenting entries at borders.
(. . .)
And it's stories like her brother's, which make a strong case for registering the transit of people across the pourous Indo Nepal border.

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We have recently heard that there is yet another British person missing in Nepal. Last year there was a missing person case of a British person called Mr. Alex Ratnasothi. Alex has not been found yet and we believe the latest missing person is also not likely to be found because extensive searches are not made in and around the area where the person was last seen or missing from.

As far as we are concerned, all previous searches were concentrated in Kathmandu city, we noticed some 4' x 5' black & white poor photocopies of papers posted in the 1 sq KM area of "Thamel" (the main tourist area) only close by where the embassy is situated. Is this all that an embassy could do in an effort to trace a missing citizen?

Comparatively, when something happens to a citizen of other embassies, swift action is taken, not a single stone is left unturned, to resolve a case. We feel that British tax payers are being cheated.

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Hi. I had been following the case of Gareth this year. It does seem strange. In most cases, i believe many of these disappearances are robbery attempts in poor and remote rural areas that have gone badly wrong. Hence, the person is never found. I believe Gareth disappeared in virtually the same area as someone else had previously disappeared. Given the relative wealth we carry on us in these countries, these things can occur.
More so i had been following the controversy surrounding the British Embassy in this case, and it's pathetic assistance. The British Embassies are notorious for not budging until they've got the cash in their pocket (i know this from personal experience). Even then, they do everything by the book to such an absurd degree that the delays can be fatal. They have much to answer for, and are in serious need of a kick up the ass so that citizens are put first, before paperwork and revenue.

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