What can you do?
You can inform other friends or relatives whether they heard something from the persons gone missing. You can contact the last known address that person has been staying.
If you’re authorized to handle one’s financial business, you can contact their bank or credit card company to inform about the last known money transactions. Make sure you bring the necessary papers like copies of passport (yours and theirs) and bank subscriptions.
Who can help you?
Have you got strong reasons to suspect someone is missing; you’re bound to be terribly worried. This doesn’t mean you can’t do more. There are people that can help you. You can contact your Ministry for foreign affairs. The address for the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs:
Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken
Directie Consulaire Zaken
Afdeling Consulair-Maatschappelijke Zaken (DCZ/CM)
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag
Telephone 070-3484770
Fax 070-3485256
The Ministry for foreign affairs.
The ministry for foreign affairs will you ask to gather as much information possible about the person that’s gone missing and about his or her travelling plans. It’s easier when you make a checklist off all information you’ve got and all information haven’t got. The ministry will need the following information.
* passport information
* date of missing
* date and whereabouts last known contact or address
* travelling arrangements (purpose to travel, travelling destination)
* travel-companions
* travelling insurance
* other: return ticket travelling company, money, credit card and traveller checks
* means of transportation, medical information and use of medicine
* Name, address and telephone number of the person the ministry for foreign affairs can use as contact.
Travelling Insurance
If the missing person has travelling insurance, you need to contact one of their emergency call centres as soon as possible. They can inform you about possible financing the following: search parties, hiring a small aircraft or helicopter, placing adds in local papers etc. Usually these things can cost a great deal of money.
What will happen next?
The ministry for foreign affairs will contact the embassy or the consul of the country the person’s gone missing, will give all the required information. The embassy or consul will then contact the local authorities (police, rescue teams) to start an investigation about the missing person. It’s possible that you're not aware that someone is missing. In this case the embassy will contact that person’s relatives. It’ll be quite a shock to hear that someone you love has gone missing. Try to mobilise as much people possible to handle your affairs. The more people know about the missing, the more ideas will sprout about how to handle the situation.
Pleas note that the embassy itself doesn’t have any authority to lead search parties in that country. This will give you a powerless feeling. You’ll think that one isn’t trying hard enough to find your loved ones. The embassy is, like you, totally dependant on the willingness and capacity of the local authorities and occupants.
A few useful tips.
When finding yourself in a situation that a loved one is missing, that entire happening will emotionally overwhelm you, not all info will be easy to remember. It’s useful to write everything down so you can read back later what exactly has happened so far. Always make sure that official statements of government and other agencies are written down. This way you can keep a clear and up to date record of what been said and done. If you decide to travel down to country of the missing, do make sure you keep in close contact with the relatives of the missing person and the authorities that are concerned with the investigation. Don’t go off on your own, leading your own investigation.
Try to deal with only one main contact person, this way it’s easier to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. Make yourself a step-by-step scenario and a list of priorities. This doesn’t mean you have strictly stick to this plan, but it’s helpful and efficient.
How to deal with the media?
Chances are that the media will contact you to write a story about the missing. This can work to your advantage but also to your disadvantage. It’s important to keep the story alive. This can motivate local people and authorities to keep searching and to keep an open mind about what needs to be done. When handled badly, negative publicity will achieve the opposite and won’t help the investigation. Therefore make sure you think twice about handling the media.
Advantages.
Up to date coverage in the media can help you finding your loved one(s). The media can have a positive influence on steps taken by authorities and mobilise local people to take part in the investigation (reward).
Disadvantages.
The written word often doesn’t know the nuance or intonation the spoken word does know. Readers and authorities can misinterpret what seems logical and well formulated to you.
As the one left behind you feel you need to share your grief with the rest of the world. It can make it easier to deal with your loss and to give it a place. You need to feel that everything is done to find that missing person, if not, it won’t give you any peace of mind. But it an also be the other way around.
Chances are that the media contacts you. But dealing with the media isn’t easy. You’re already dealing with al lot of emotions and it can be difficult to share this with strangers. Everybody reacts in a different way of course. You need to make sure how you feel about it. You can always ask a friend or relative to act on your behalf towards the press.
If you choose not to have any contact with the media, stories (positive and negative) might still be printed or broadcasted. This can be a motivation to take part in the distribution of information. Whichever choice you make, it will always be difficult to foresee the outcome of publicity, on you and the on search.
Tips on how to handle the media.
If you aren’t ready to face the media yourself, don’t do it. Remember that some journalist have their own way to gather the info the need.
Formulate a goal. Make sure you know, what you want to achieve in activating the media.
Be aware that you know what things you want to discuss and which things you don’t want to discus, and stick to it. When you don’t want to discus certain things because they are emotionally straining for you to deal with, or they aren’t relevant for this interview, make this known.
Put all info on paper for yourself, you can give this to a reporter if you want to.
On a personal level you can choose the media of your liking. For more general information send press releases (On this site different press-releases contain different information).
Take your time, and question yourself if you want to meet the interviewer before the interview takes place. This way you can decide for yourself if you want to deal with this interviewer.
Ask a friend or relative to take part in the interview if you want to. They can support when it gets to emotional for you, and they can give feedback on how the interview went.
•A regular contact to within the media can be more familiar to work with, but do realise it’s their job and their only a small part in the whole organisation.
•Make sure you get to read the article before it’s gets printed. You are entitled to it, although some journalists wont like it.
•TV coverage and newspaper articles are often small, but this doesn’t mean they’re not good. Remember this, it can lead to disappointment.
•If you choose to enter the publicity doesn’t mean you have any obligations towards any paper or TV-network.
•Tell people you might appear on TV or that there will be a story printed in a newspaper. You already know that person is missing, but most people don’t. Try to set up a social network to inform people.
Support
We’ve got good experiences with TROS Vermist. They will try to help you, also without a camera. We used to think that they only work front stage, but they really don’t. They’ll also try to help you behind the scenes. There is a Internet link present on this website to their website.
After Care
There are certain agencies and organisations that can help you to process your loss. If you want support and help you can contact them. This is the address in the Netherlands:
Vereniging achterblijvers na vermissing
Postbus 6
3405 ZG Benschop
Telefoon/fax 020-625942
www.devav.nl
Missing? What happens next…?
Your friend or relative has been travelling for a quite some time now. You frequently receive an e-mail, a postcard or a phone call, but against all expectations you suddenly don’t receive any news whatsoever for her or him. Your senses tell you something isn’t right and you wonder what you can do.
