Parents often run through several “nightmare” scenarios in their heads when they cannot communicate with their child: one of the worst possibilities is that their child is missing. The mental pathways and fears that come up are fuel to an already anxiety-driven situation. As a mother myself, I have lived through the fears and the pain and the confusion and the desperation that parents go through when a child is missing. Nothing short of seeing my child in person, hugging them and telling them I love them will quell those feelings.

In 2023, over 4000 individuals (including youth) were reported as missing in Edmonton. No single agency, Edmonton Police Service (EPS) department, or social services has the capacity to respond to and find over 4000 individuals in a year. That’s why we ask for collaboration with agencies, partners, parents, teachers, friends, and family members. When we are all looking together, we are more successful at finding and supporting the young person who is missing.

Process is the most important part of a collaborative effort to find someone who is missing.

EPS has an online toolkit/checklist for parents whose children are missing. This document is a place for you to understand the process, take notes and be active in the investigation:

• Evaluation
  • EPS will begin with asking if the parents/family members have checked their usual hangouts, friends’ houses, where they were last seen, who has been contacted and information around what happened leading up to their disappearance.
• Risk Assessment
  • Once it is established that a youth is missing, EPS will go through a risk assessment on the individual situation and determine what work and collaboration is needed. Highest priority will be for youth who are struggling with mental illness, anyone with a form of dementia, and other high-risk factors that will activate EPS to go out and immediately patrol for the youth.
• Investigation
  • If not a high-risk, then the missing persons department is activated, and a full investigation begins. Here, a team will look at covering a checklist of places and people that youth might be accessing, including using social media and phone tracking for support.
  • If a youth is still missing, then posters and news releases will be launched to widen the search and activate the community to be on the look out. The investigation will still continue alongside this community work; the net of support and activate participants simply grows.
• Collaboration
  • When it comes to youth who are considered missing, there is an entire system of agencies and staff members who are dedicated to immediate action and support.
  • Schools, social services agencies, shelters, EPS, and Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) are all notified of youth that are considered missing. We are all put on alert to look out for and collaborate with youth who are listed as missing.
  • EPS has an entire youth division branch that works with agencies like YESS to share and collaborate on information regarding missing youth. We share updates on sightings, access to programs or resources, and EPS does regular patrols to ensure that they are around if a youth or agency needs them.

What happens at YESS?

When we are notified of a youth who is missing and their circumstances, we activate our staff to be vigilant for sightings. We ask around if any other youth have seen them and we collaborate with fellow youth-serving agencies to ensure that we are communicating when someone has access to the youth.

And the work doesn’t stop after a youth is found. We continue to work together to ensure that both family and the young person are supported in their reconciliation and given the tools needed to access to help reduce the likelihood of the young person going missing again.

Our goal at YESS is to establish communication and connection with the young person so we can understand what happened, how we can resolve the situation and also how we can move forward with new tools and supports to prevent this from happening in the future.

As a parent, it is hard to be hit with all the emotions and fears that come from a youth who is missing. If I could share one message with those parents, I would say that there is always hope. Hope comes in the form of an entire community of people who care, who listen, who understand, and who are activated in the search. It comes in the form of a process that involves you and supports you and is working on your behalf. Emotions and anxiety can create panic and urgency and fear, and we are here to help you navigate through them and find the hope again. Because there is always hope!

There are always people who are willing to help and connect and be activated. Parents are not alone, and youth are not alone.