What the public should do during a missing person alert

WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – When the alert goes out that a person is missing, authorities are asking the community for their help in locating the missing person. But what can the public do to help, and what is doing too much that you might be interfering with their search?

Warren County sheriff Brett Hightower says that arriving to the scene could cause problems for law enforcement in the search as by the time of the alert, possibly dozens of first responders are already busy on scene.

“We’re not asking people to come to the scene and help us, because typically when we get there, we’re also getting volunteer fire, fire, other law enforcement agencies to come help. So usually we have anywhere from 15 to 25 folks pretty quickly in the general vicinity,” Hightower said.

But time is of the essence as the longer a search goes on, the larger the search grid becomes. So being aware of your surroundings if you live in an area of a missing person is crucial to a good outcome.

“We would rather, getting all those resources there and then find the child safe, you know, then, you know, time to be of the essence and us, not get notified. And because that child could have wandered an additional quarter mile. And so with every few minutes, you know, your map is going to expand,” Hightower said.

And if you were to locate a missing person, Hightower says the next steps are simple.

“Contact law enforcement immediately. And then it depends on the situation. But a lot of times, even folks that have dementia, they’re acceptable to you offering them water or maybe you know, something to eat because they may have been wandering around for several hours and just naturally, they may be thirsty. So they’re looking for, you know, that reciprocation of of kindness. And so that way you can kind of get out with them. You can stay with them, keep them, keep them safe until law enforcement would arrive. It would be the same with a child,” Hightower said.

Hightower stressed the importance of time, as it could mean the difference between a positive outcome and a tragic one.