0500 700 700

The Missing Persons Helpline is a UK based charity dedicated to helping missing people and supporting their families.

If you know someone who is missing...

... you can report them via the Missing Person helplines webpage. You can call also the Missing Person Helpline on their UK freephone number to report their disappearance once reported to the police. Callers from outside the UK can call 44 (0)20 8392 4545 to contact the 24 hour helpline. People on the other end of the phone can provide support, advice and practical help. On occassions the charity can help with advertising on milk cartons, in The Big Issue and in the media on the radio, teletext and on television.

After the initial call or email to the charity, if they think that they can help with the matter, they will send a form by post to fill in which asks for details about the missing person, and asks for a photograph. Once the signed form and photo have been received, the details are entered into a confidential computerised national record of all people listed missing which the helpline co-ordinates. This has an age progression computer program which can create an image of what a missing person may look like years after a photograph was taken. The identifictaion department of the helpline has become vital resource for police and coroners across the UK. The department aims to put a name to faces of unidentified people, alive and dead. This includes people who are in hospital suffering from amnesia.

If you know about a missing person...

... you can contact the Missing Person Helpline or email sightings@missingpersons.org There are a large number of photos on the Missing Persons Helpline webpage. One of the people is Richey James, the drummer from the Manic Street Preachers who disappeared on 1st February 1995 and was last seen at the Embassy hotel in London just before he was due to board a flight to New York.

If you have left home...

... you can leave a message for advice and help on 0800 700 740. The helpline can pass a message on to a family member without direct contact with the family member from the missing person. The helpline is available 24 hours a day to anyone in the UK. As well as being able to send a message without revealing a missing persons location, they can help the caller get to safety if they are in danger. They have a policy which states that they will not try to make anyone go home instead helping the caller to explore all their options and giving advice where needed.

If you would like to make a donation...

... you can call +44 (0)20 8392 4592. Volunteers are also needed to help with the charitys work answering the phones with the message home project. All volunteers are screened and carefully selected. They are then given training and a small number of shifts a week. There are around 100 volunteers with a staff of 57 paid employees led by two sisters called Mary Asprey and Janet Newman.

The Charity's Founders

Mary Asprey OBE had worked for charities as a consultant before helping set up the helpline. The main part of her work is in collation of information and analysing the data which the helpline collects. She works full time for the charity and was awarded her OBE in 1996.

The other founder of the charity is Janet Newman OBE FRSA. The charity was originally based in her bedroom in SW London. Previously she worked as a welfare officer in London for British Aerospace. She works full time for the charity and was awarded her OBE in 1996.

Sources
http://www.missingpersons.org

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