Missing Person
Private investigations involving those who disappear, hide, wander or vanish...
The cases that come our way can be truly varied, ranging from due diligence to financial fraud to more complex family matters. Sometimes, there are also those cases where someone has gone missing. The fact is, though, people can go missing for a variety of different reasons. It's not always in the way that sounds like the plot to a Hollywood thriller.
Thinking back to many of the cases, given to the investigations and security companies I work with, much of the time, the missing person is not missing in the classical sense.
They've often chosen to go off grid because perhaps they've been involved in some kind of financial fraud, or due to some disruption they've caused.
In one case, I was asked to help track a thief. Fortunately, this was more Mission Feasible than Mission Impossible- mostly because the thief in question had a rather optimistic belief that stolen tech doesn't leave a digital trail.
On other cases, it was a case of business parties trying to lay low having walked or snuck away, with an investor's money. This is why we stress to our clients to let us help with some dynamic due diligence, as a preventative measure. It can help one avoid a costly experience.
Tracking skills:
Even when there is no stolen tech, there are always bread crumbs to follow when trying to track someone attempting to remain off the grid.
When researching various martial arts and warrior traditions, I was fascinated to learn of the tracking skills and ways of covering ground used by First Nation warrior tribes, such as the Apache. Tracking is very much a skill of hunter gatherer groups.
There are different forms of tracking and my security associates each have this skill in their own refined way.
My main investigations partner - a former senior detective with CID, has significant investigative experience. He's especially good at following digital trails that even some professionals might overlook. It's a key part of his craft, after many years of police work, dealing with all manner of serious crime.
Many of the cases I’ve been involved in, have required tracking within a more urban environment. In a city, whilst you can be presented with an overload of possible routes and sources of information, you learn to filter and narrow your search paths. Zen like patience and hound like persistence are also both required.
Sometimes, the way to follow a trail may require the use of intuition. This is often what would help me in powerful ways, over the years, when trying to track down various off the beaten path martial art teachers.
It's also something I received specific training in from intriguing individuals. Good observation skills can also be incredibly valuable.
Some small detail might provide a revealing clue. In the martial arts world, it might be a symbol, an emblem worn, or perhaps a piece of clothing that hints of an affiliation to an old tradition. A gesture or way of moving, even a physical attribute can convey a great deal to eagle like eyes.
In the investigation world, there are other bread crumbs that can be accessed. A friendly conversation with some locals, or by building a sense of a person's lifestyle, certain patterns emerge...
Why people go missing:
There are many other reasons though why people go missing. Let's take a brief look at some of theses...
Mental health issues and substance abuse are among common reasons why a person may go missing. The big concern here is that they are vulnerable and may put themselves at risk, in various ways.
It may not always be a case that someone is officially missing but a family member, or friend, has simply lost touch with someone. This is a little less common in this day and age, due to online communication channels, but it does still happen. This may be particularly the case with older individuals who've been less interactive online.
Then, there are incidents where a person goes missing because of a travel or expedition related incident. Someone could disappear while hiking in a jungle environment or whilst mountaineering or at sea. These are deeply concerning situations as the person may have been involved in an accident or got lost.
You might recall the incident in 2023, where the British actor Julian Sands went missing, after going hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains, in California. Sadly, his body was then found, about five months after his disappearance.
In these type of missing cases, searches will often involve larger scale rescue teams and law enforcement agencies. The same is understandably the case, when the most disturbing missing people cases emerge, where someone has been attacked, abducted or kidnapped.
A person can go missing because of some problems they are facing in their life. Here, they may be concerned for their safety or they don't know how to tell family members exactly what kind of trouble they are in.
It may be that they don't suddenly disappear. They may gradually distance themselves. They may act in a way that seems out of character, isolating themselves from friends and family.
In one case, I got involved in, some parents became concerned when their son, a young adult, started mixing with a very different crowd. The individual started to stop showing up for various commitments and communications started to get significantly reduced, in what was essentially a close family.
Our role was to gather intelligence about the party that was having this influence. This is actually a relatively common type of engagement.
A safeguarding angle:
The point here is that there are, sometimes, behavioural indicators and certain signs that can convey that a person may be planning to disappear. This is important to mention because if loved ones, friends, even colleagues start to sense something is wrong, then they might be able to take steps to help.
This is especially useful for parents, who may have a teenager or even younger child who is being exposed to the wrong elements, via social media or online activity. This is where adequate cyber measures are important.
The extent to which human trafficking continues to occur across the world, in modern cities and not just third world, poverty stricken areas is alarming. At least though, there are writers and organisations working to expose it and shut it down.
Sometimes, when people get lost in the trafficking network, it’s because they got drawn into it, based on false promises of work, a glamorous lifestyle or some other manipulative ploy.
There are also many other steps that parents, families and even employers can use to safe guard and reduce exposure to threat. In other words, from a security angle, we must also consider what measures can be taken to reduce people's chances of going missing.
A key step here is to carry out risk assessments and also vet staff whether for households, companies, service providers or organisations.
This is something that should not just happen in the domain of family offices or businesses. Families should take measures to find out as much as they can, before employing some kind of service provider for their family. Again, due diligence is key.
Then, there's the personal safety aspect, which is another part of my work sharing Tri-Tier, helping families and companies to improve the awareness levels of individual family members or employees.
Key steps can be taken to help people better avoid threat and increase their discernment, when exposed to potential third party deception.
I will also introduce the services of established security providers, who can provide either direct close protection operatives or more tech based assistance.
Approach from all sides:
We have touched on the preventative measures, but now let's consider the scenarios where a person is actually missing. It's essential that the police are contacted as soon as possible.
Time can be of the essence in a missing people case, especially if someone may be injured or exposed to criminality. Sometimes, a family may hesitate, thinking the matter is not going to be treated seriously by law enforcement. The thing is though, law enforcement organisations will have better resources and access.
There are, of course, some situations where a family may feel that there case is not being taken seriously or being addressed with the thoroughness and pace that they would want to see.
A family may also require emotional support and professional guidance, as the distress caused can be overwhelming, when a loved one is missing.
When an investigation group is deployed, perhaps in cases where the case is not deemed a police matter or a police priority, then there are multiple angles from which to approach the situation.
This can involve good old fashioned investigation work, along with gathering a thorough understanding of the circumstances and the missing person's background. People may be surprised what details provide a path to follow.
It also helps when the investigation company has it's own potent networks, both within a city or globally. Only recently, someone came to me with a possible missing person case in South America, and I was soon in comms with global security associates, to see who might have specific contacts in that region.
In one case, my urban network proved especially helpful when trying to track a vandal, targeting a client's street in an wealthy area of London, with malicious intent. His actions and profile suggested someone who could escalate activity to a more serious level. A friendly hotel concierge and other contacts all provided relevant local intelligence.
Significant numbers:
In the UK, according to The National Crime Agency, which maintains the UK Missing Persons Unit, it’s believed that over 200,000 people go missing, each year. Note that some are found or resurface fairly quickly.
The fact the remains though- people do go missing and, in some cases, it’s the result of nefarious activity.
In other posts, I’ve shared personal safety insights that can be helpful to families and companies, to take practical steps to reduce chances of being a part of these statistics.
In this piece, there’s been only superficial discussions on techniques used to track missing people or those in hiding, having been part of some deceptive activity. Some aspects are best not disclosed in a public article.
Also, my respect goes to those people who have devoted their working lives to research and assisting families and organisations to tackle this problem.
Aran
About the author
London-based, Aran Dharmeratnam is the founder of Tri-Tier, specialising in situational awareness and hybrid self-protection for executives, high-profile figures, families and security professionals. His work in private investigations and risk intelligence is grounded in extensive operational experience, including covert engagement and HUMINT. Aran’s insights have featured in The Financial Times, The Spectator, LBC, Aviation Security International, Metro, and Security Management Today.
For consultations or training contact: office@tri-tier.com