Missing Persons Identification Act Passes General Assembly (Cook County, IL) – A bill championed by Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart that creates new guidelines for missing persons investigations awaits the Governor’s signature after it passed the Illinois General Assembly.
SB 24, the Missing Persons Identification Act, sponsored by Sen. Michael Hastings in the Senate and Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin in the House, requires law enforcement in Illinois to take a report immediately when they are notified of a missing person and enter it into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS).
The bill also sets timelines for follow up actions if the person is not located quickly. If a person is missing for more than 60 days, investigators will be required to collect any existing fingerprint records, dental records, and photographs and enter that information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a federal database.
Typically, law enforcement uses criminal databases in their missing persons investigations to search for fingerprint matches, which excludes those who have not had contact with the criminal justice system.
NamUs is not a criminal database and some case information on NamUs is searchable by the public. Mandatory entry of missing person reports into NamUs allows family members to search for their missing loved ones.
The bill mandates that missing persons cases remain active with the respective law enforcement agency, and in the databases, until the person is located.
Sheriff Dart’s Missing Persons Project was the inspiration for this bill. Launched in 2021, the missing women cases using all available investigative and forensic methods, including NamUs.
Missing Persons Project is a team of Sheriff’s Police investigators who work to solve long-term
“When a loved one goes missing, time is of the essence,” Sheriff Dart said. “This bill provides a guide for law enforcement on how to respond and follow up on missing persons investigations and provide answers to family members regarding their loved one’s whereabouts. I commend the Illinois General Assembly for passing this legislation and urge Governor JB Pritzker to sign this bill into law.”
Missing Persons Identification Act Passes General Assembly
