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Missing Persons - FAQ

1. What can I do if a loved one goes missing abroad?
   
   
2. How can Canadian consular officials help?
   
   
3. Where can I find information about international child abductions and custody issues?
   
   
4. What can be done to prevent a missing person case from occurring abroad?
   

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1.  What can I do if a loved one goes missing abroad?

It is important that you stay calm and seek assistance from the appropriate professionals. You should immediately report the disappearance to the police (local and abroad) and advise Consular Services. You may also want to initiate inquiries with credit card companies and banks to obtain information on the missing person’s recent financial transactions.

Record the full details, to the extent known, of the following:

• Full name, including all alternative spellings and arrangements of the family name;
• Date of birth;
• Place of birth;
• Nationality; include legal status in Canada (i.e., citizen, permanent resident, student);
• Passport number;
• Height;
• Weight (specify measurement and date);
• Colour of eyes;
• Colour of hair (keep hair strands for DNA testing);
• Most recent photograph;
• Blood type;
• Identifying features (marks, scars, glasses, tattoos, etc.);
• Medical information; and
• Fingerprint record/dental records.

The International Committee of the Red Cross provides a list of tracing offices of recognized Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies for most countries. These societies provide useful services to locate missing persons.

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2.  How can Canadian consular officials help?

Consular officials in Ottawa and abroad can take measures to help locate persons travelling or living overseas and ensure they are put in touch with their families in Canada. Please note that we cannot coordinate or pay for search-and-rescue efforts to locate missing Canadians. Please note that we cannot coordinate or pay for search-and-rescue efforts to locate missing Canadians.

If someone is simply out of touch, the nearest Canadian government office abroad will seek assistance from local officials to locate that person. However, if someone cannot be located, and there are concerns about that person’s well-being, the family will be asked to file a missing person report with the appropriate Canadian police force, which will then use Interpol channels to request foreign police cooperation.

Canadian government offices abroad may also:

• Check immigration and airline records to establish the person's entry and/or departure from the country if the flight and airline information is known. The availability and accessibility of these records vary from country to country.
• Contact others in the country, including Canadians and foreigners travelling in the same area, to obtain available information.
• Arrange for in-country publicity, including media announcements and posters, if asked to do so. Expenses must be covered by the family or friends of the missing individual.
• If the family is offering a reward, provide advice and (if necessary) evaluate responses in cooperation with local authorities.

If the missing person is found, we may be unable to reveal that person’s whereabouts, in view of the right to privacy. It would be up to the missing person to contact his or her family.

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3.  Where can I find information about international child abductions and custody issues?

Consult our FAQs on Child Abductions and Custody Issues and our publication entitled International Child Abduction: A Manual  for Parents.

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4.  What can be done to prevent a missing person case from occurring abroad?

You should take preventive measures, such as the following:

• Stay in frequent contact with your family and friends at home.
• Ensure that you leave behind a detailed itinerary and inform your friends or family in Canada of any changes in travel plans.
• Use our Registration of Canadians Abroad service, as required, and know how to contact the nearest Canadian government office abroad.