'Missing Alert Text Messages' Implemented for 100 Days... Missing Persons Found 10 Times Faster

167 Broadcasts Sent, 159 Individuals Found
Detection Time for Intellectually Disabled Advanced 12 Times
Police Agency to Establish Own Broadcast System Next Year

Missing person alert text message.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The 'Missing Alert Text Message' system, introduced in June this year, has reached its 100th day of implementation and has proven to be a great help in the rapid discovery of missing persons.

According to the National Police Agency on the 28th, from June 9, when the missing alert text message was introduced, until the 16th of this month, a total of 167 missing persons received alert text messages, of whom 159 (95.2%) were found and the reports were closed. By category, there were 120 dementia patients, 38 individuals with intellectual, autism spectrum, or mental disabilities, and 9 children under 18 years old.

In particular, there were 60 cases (35.9%) where the reporter directly found the missing person after seeing the alert message and providing a tip. For these 60 people directly found through the alert messages, the average time from message dispatch to discovery was 3 hours and 10 minutes, which is 10.7 times faster compared to the average discovery time of 34 hours for missing children this year.

Specifically, the average discovery time for missing individuals with intellectual, autism spectrum, or mental disabilities through alert messages was 2 hours and 57 minutes, more than 12 times faster than the overall average. The discovery time for dementia patients was also rapid, averaging 3 hours and 17 minutes, more than twice as fast as the average for all dementia patients.

On June 10, the day after the system was officially implemented, in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province, a missing dementia patient (79) was found within 30 minutes after a citizen’s crucial tip following the alert message. On July 25, in Buk-gu, Gwangju, a missing person with an intellectual disability (54) was found just 3 minutes after the alert message was sent, thanks to a nearby citizen’s tip. On the last day of the Chuseok holiday, the 23rd, in Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, a motorcycle delivery driver who saw the alert message for a missing dementia patient (85) found the individual on the street within an hour and reported it to the police.

The missing alert text message system is designed to activate public reporting when a missing case occurs by sending personal information such as age and physical description, as well as other necessary details for discovery, via text message to mobile phones for missing children under 18, individuals with intellectual, autism spectrum, or mental disabilities, and dementia patients. It is mainly sent focusing on the last known location or residential area when the missing person does not carry a mobile phone or wandering detection device, making location tracking impossible, or when CCTV footage is insufficient to confirm their movements.

The police plan to improve the missing alert text message dispatch system in the future. Currently, since the National Police Agency does not have its own text dispatch system, it temporarily uses the disaster message dispatch system with cooperation from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. They plan to secure a budget and establish their own dispatch system starting next year. There is also an issue where only messages within 90 characters are sent, requiring recipients to click on an internet link attached to the message to view detailed information such as photos; this will be improved through discussions with the three major telecommunications companies.

Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, said, “Most missing cases are resolved through police search and investigation and citizen reports, but with the public’s interest in the missing alert messages, missing persons are being found more quickly, establishing a solid citizen safety network.” “We will continue to improve the system to create a society safe from disappearances,” he added.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.