When somebody you care about goes missing, acting quickly matters.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of misconceptions in the UK about what you can and cannot do when someone disappears.

For veterans and serving Armed Forces personnel, that matters enormously.

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, Beacon Alert recorded 50 cases involving missing veterans and serving personnel in the UK. Of those, 41 people were found safe, seven were sadly found deceased and two remained missing at the end of the reporting period.

That means 14% of the cases in our dataset ended in a fatality. Research into the wider UK missing-person population puts confirmed fatal outcomes at below 1%.

Beacon's dataset is small and reflects the cases that reach us, so it should not be treated as a national estimate of the risk faced by every veteran who goes missing. But it demonstrates something we see repeatedly through our work: when a veteran or serving member of the Armed Forces goes missing in concerning circumstances, there is good reason to take it seriously and act quickly.

So let's clear up some of the most common myths.

Myth: You have to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing

False.

There is no 24-hour waiting period in the UK.

If you are worried about someone's safety or welfare, you can report them missing immediately.Police.uk explicitly states that you do not have to wait 24 hours and that reporting somebody missing is not wasting police time.

If there is an immediate danger to life, call 999. Otherwise, contact the police on 101 or use your local force's missing-person reporting service.

When reporting a veteran or serving member of the Armed Forces missing, say that clearly to the call handler.

Tell the police about their service history and, more importantly, explain every factor that makes you concerned: suicidal thoughts or previous attempts, unusual messages, mental-health concerns, medication, physical-health conditions, previous missing episodes, access to weapons, alcohol or drug use, recent bereavement, relationship difficulties or anything else that may increase their vulnerability.

The College of Policing specifically identifies suicidal thoughts, self-harm, substance misuse and factors which impair judgement as considerations when police assess the risk surrounding a missing person.

The Forcer Protocolhas also been developed specifically to improve the response when vulnerable veterans and serving personnel go missing. The national initiative began rolling out through UK policing in 2024 and is intended to give police faster access to information that may help locate a missing member of the Armed Forces community safely.

The important thing is simple:

Don't wait because you think you have to.

Myth: "They're just doing it for attention"

False, and potentially very dangerous.

People go missing for many different reasons.

Sometimes somebody wants space. Sometimes they are frightened, confused, intoxicated or overwhelmed. Sometimes they are experiencing a mental-health crisis. Sometimes they are thinking about suicide.

In a suicidal crisis, a person can develop a powerful sense that they are a burden to the people around them. Removing themselves can feel, to them, like they are protecting their family or friends from having to deal with their problems.

That feeling may be completely at odds with reality.

The people searching desperately for them would often give anything simply to know that they are alive and safe.

If you are reading this because you are thinking about disappearing, remember that distinction.

What you believe other people think about you and what those people actually think about you may be two very different things.

You do not need to solve everything before speaking to somebody. You don't even need to know what to say. Sometimes the first step is simply letting somebody know where you are and that you aren't OK.

And if somebody disappears in circumstances that concern you, don't dismiss it as attention seeking.

Treat the behaviour as communication.

Something has happened that made leaving feel easier than staying.

Myth: If they've been drinking or taking drugs, the police won't take it seriously

False.

Alcohol or drugs can make a missing person more vulnerable, not less.

Intoxication can impair judgement, increase impulsivity, make somebody more susceptible to accidents or environmental dangers and make existing mental-health difficulties more dangerous.

Substance misuse is specifically included within College of Policing guidance on factors relevant to assessing risk in missing-person investigations.

Tell the police what the person has consumed if you know.

Don't minimise it because you are worried they will be judged. It may be important information for finding them safely.

Myth: Only a family member can report someone missing

False.

You don't have to be someone's parent, spouse or next of kin to be concerned about them.

A friend, colleague, neighbour or anybody else who has genuine reason to believe somebody is missing and at risk can contact the police.

If something feels seriously wrong, don't assume somebody else must have reported it.

Check.

During the period covered by our first annual report, several cases actually reached Beacon Alert before the police had been contacted. Our advice is unequivocal: if somebody is missing and at risk, the police should be your first call.

Myth: Going missing is illegal

False.

It is not a criminal offence simply to go missing.

An adult is generally entitled to leave home, stop speaking to people and go somewhere else if they choose to.

Police guidance is explicit that a person will not be arrested or be "in trouble" simply because they went missing. The priority is their welfare.

This is particularly important for the person who is missing.

If you're sitting somewhere right now thinking:

"I've caused too much trouble. Everyone is looking for me. I'm going to get arrested. I can't go back now."

That isn't how this works.

You have not crossed some point of no return.

Making contact now is better than staying missing because you are frightened about the reaction.

Myth: If police find an adult, they will tell the family exactly where they are

Not necessarily.

This one can be difficult for families.

An adult has a right to privacy. If police locate somebody and establish that they are safe, an adult who has capacity will not ordinarily be forced to return home simply because somebody reported them missing.

There may also be circumstances where police cannot disclose their location.

That can feel incredibly frustrating when you have spent hours or days frightened for somebody's life, but a missing-person investigation is ultimately about establishing the person's safety, not removing their rights.

For the person who has gone missing, this is another reason not to be frightened of making contact.

You can tell the police you are safe even if you aren't ready to return home.

Myth: You should immediately put everything you know on Facebook

Not always.

Public appeals can be extremely powerful. Beacon Alert exists because rapid, responsible information sharing can help find people.

But more information is not automatically better information.

There may be details known to the family or police that should not be made public. Publishing phone numbers, medical information, suicide notes, sensitive family circumstances or information about the police investigation can cause harm, invade the missing person's privacy or interfere with efforts to locate them.

Contact the police first.

Where a public appeal is appropriate, share information that actually helps somebody recognise or locate the missing person.

A useful appeal normally needs things such as a recent photograph, their name, where and when they were last seen, what they were wearing, relevant vehicle details, areas they may visit and the correct police contact or incident reference.

You don't need to tell the entire internet somebody's life story in order to find them.

And once somebody has been found, think carefully about what remains online. A person experiencing the worst day of their life should not have to discover years later that intimate details of that crisis are still circulating around Facebook.

Myth: "They've done this before, they'll come back"

Never assume that.

A history of going missing can provide useful information about where somebody might have gone, but it should not automatically reassure you that this episode will end in the same way.

Circumstances change.

Their mental state may be different. They may have consumed alcohol or drugs. They may have travelled somewhere different. They may have access to something they didn't previously have access to.

Tell police about previous episodes, including where they were found and what happened, but also explain what is different this time.

Familiarity should not become complacency.

Myth: "They took their phone, so they'll be easy to find"

False.

Real life isn't like TV.

A mobile phone can provide useful investigative information, but simply carrying a phone does not mean somebody's precise location is constantly available to their family or instantly visible to the police.

Phones can be switched off, damaged, lose signal or run out of battery.

If you have useful information such as their mobile number, device details, vehicle registration, recent messages, known destinations or the last time they were active online, preserve it and give it to the police.

Don't delay reporting them because you assume technology will find them.

Myth: You need to be certain they're in danger before calling the police

False.

You aren't expected to conduct your own risk assessment before reporting somebody missing.

Tell the police what has happened and why it concerns you.

Sometimes it is one obvious thing: a suicide note, a threat to harm themselves or medication left behind.

Other times it is a collection of smaller things:

They haven't turned up for work.

Their phone is off.

A message didn't sound like them.

They have recently experienced a breakup or bereavement.

They've stopped speaking to people.

They've gone without explanation.

You know the person best. If their disappearance is substantially out of character and you are genuinely worried about their welfare, say so.

If you're the person thinking about going missing

There is another side to all of this.

Maybe you aren't reading this because somebody you love has disappeared.

Maybe you're reading it because disappearing sounds appealing right now.

You might want everyone to leave you alone. You might feel ashamed or scared. You might think you're causing problems for your family. You might simply want the noise to stop for a while.

You are still allowed to ask for help.

You don't have to explain everything.

You don't need the right words.

And if people are already looking for you, making contact doesn't mean you've failed at anything and it doesn't mean you're in trouble.

You can start with something as simple as:

"I'm safe, but I'm not OK."

That is enough to start a conversation.

When somebody goes missing, time matters

Beacon Alert was created around a simple principle: speed saves lives.

Our first annual dataset recorded an average public alert period of 2.04 days, with one day being the most common duration. Many cases were resolved quickly once information began moving between families, police, support organisations and the wider community.

But the outcomes in that same dataset demonstrate why we cannot afford complacency.

Seven families didn't get the outcome everyone had hoped for, many more since then have experience the same turmoil.

If a veteran or serving member of the Armed Forces you care about disappears and something doesn't feel right:

• Don't wait 24 hours.
• Don't worry about wasting anybody's time.
• Don't minimise the circumstances.
• Tell the police they are a veteran or serving member of the Armed Forces.
• Tell them about every factor that makes you concerned.
• And if you believe there is an immediate risk to life, call 999.

Act on what you know now, rather than waiting to see if your fears were justified. You may just save a life.