More than 100,000 people have temporarily disappeared in Germany this year. That is significantly more than in the previous year. Most of them return home in no time. Hundreds of missing persons cases are still open with the police.
The number of missing persons cases increased in 2022 compared to the previous year. By December 7 of this year, around 104,000 people had been reported missing, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said at the request of the German Press Agency. Of these, more than 100,400 cases have already been settled. In the whole of 2021, almost 96,800 people were registered as missing, including more than 95,600 cases that were closed.
All cases in which people were missing for more than four hours are registered in the evaluated database. According to this, the numbers in 2022 have increased compared to the previous year for adults, adolescents and children. By December 7 of this year, the police had registered a good 13,380 cases of missing children, of which around 12,800 are considered resolved. In 2021 as a whole, almost 11,950 children were reported missing in Germany, of which around 11,750 cases are considered settled, according to BKA data.
According to experience, about half of all missing person cases are resolved within the first week, the BKA explained. Within a month, the completion rate is already over 80 percent. According to the experts, the proportion of people missing for more than a year is around 3 percent. All minors up to and including 13 years would be considered missing if they have left their usual circle of life and their whereabouts are unknown, explained the BKA. "As long as the investigations do not reveal anything else, it is assumed that there is a risk to the life or physical integrity of the person concerned."
The annual average clear-up rate for missing children is almost 97 percent. The unsolved cases also include child abductions or so-called unaccompanied refugee children who have left their accommodation facilities. "All in all, it can be said that although many children are reported missing every day, the proportion of children whose whereabouts cannot be clarified even after a long period of time is very small."
In the case of adults, the police only assume that there is a missing person if they have to assume that life and limb are in danger. "Adults who are in full possession of their mental and physical abilities have the right to choose their whereabouts freely, even without telling them relatives or friends," explained the BKA.
