Free State police spokesperson, Peter Kareli, told OFM News the first person one should contact when you realise that someone could be missing is the police. There is no waiting period, the 48-hour waiting period was never required by the police.

“Any person who realises that there is something wrong with a person’s disappearance can contact the police. It does not only have to be a family member. One can also go to their nearest police station,” says Kareli.

Any current information must be taken along to the police station. The police will ask you a few questions regarding the missing person and there is a form that you will need to fill out. The form is called SAPS 55. The form asks specific questions about the missing person, for example, if they have a tattoo, the colour of their skin and marks or birthmarks that the person might have.

He went on to say that the police need information of the person reporting the missing person regarding the type of phone calls the missing person recently received, whether the person was being threatened, and so forth. They also need to tell the police about places that the person frequently visited, the friends that the person keeps and the mental state of the person when they went missing.

“Photos are not compulsory but it really does help,” he said.

Kareli ended off by saying that the police will accept any kind of help to locate the missing person as fast as possible.

One can also make use of social media after the missing person case has been registered by the police. There are different groups on the various platforms that help in this regard. A prominent one that could be used on Facebook is Pink Ladies and they can be contacted on 072-214-7439.

OFM News/Sazly Hartzenberg