Long-term missing child guide for law enforcement: Strategies for finding long-term missing children Long-term missing child guide for law enforcement: Strategies for finding long-term missing children 2016 Edited by Robert G. Lowery, Jr., and Robert Hoever National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® www.missingkids.org 1-800-THE-LOST® or 1-800-843-5678 ORI VA007019W Copyright © 2016 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved. This project was supported by Grant No. 2015-MC-CX-K001 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or professional opinion about specific facts. Information provided in this document may not remain current or accurate, so recipients should use this document only as a starting point for their own independent research and analysis. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. CyberTipline®, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children®, 1-800-THE-LOST® and Project ALERT® are registered trademarks of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. LONG-TERM MISSING CHILD GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - 2 Contents Acknowledgments.....10 Letter from John Walsh.....15 Foreword by Patty Wetterling.....16 Chapter 1: Introduction by Robert G. Lowery, Jr......18 Quick reference.....18 We are finding more long-term missing children now.....19 Are we doing enough?.....21 Chapter 2: Overview of missing children cases by Robert G. Lowery, Jr.; John Bischoff; and Robert Hoever.....25 Quick reference.....25 Defining long term.....26 Missing child classifications.....26 Definitions used by NCMEC…..26 Runaway children…..28 Risk assessment.....28 Social media and text messaging: Aids to assist in assessing risk.....32 Child sex trafficking and children missing from care…..32 Child homicides…..34 Initial missing child classifications…..34 Child homicide prosecutions without a body…..34 Chapter 3: Investigative practices, policies and principles by Robert G. Lowery, Jr.; Robert Hoever; and Richard Leonard.....36 Quick reference.....36 Local CARTs, FBI’s CARD, FBI’s BAU 3 and additional resources.....38 Management challenges.....39 Keeping the investigation active.....39 Transition of the investigative team.....40 Assumption: Everything that can be done on the case has been done.....41 Going back to the beginning.....43 Documentation: Case reports and related materials.....46 Legacy information: Thoughts about recreating lost, misplaced or destroyed case files.....48 Verifying information from sources such as cyber sleuths, bloggers and questionable witnesses.....50 Investigative methodology.....51 Victimology.....52 Friends and associates of the victim.....55 Timelines: Determining the window of opportunity.....55 Suspect and witness statements.....58 The effect of trauma on bystanders and witnesses.....61 LONG-TERM MISSING CHILD GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - 3 Suspect development and elimination.....62 Linkage analysis.....67 Identifying the crime scene.....72 Neighborhood canvassing.....74 Social media as an investigative tool.....75 Composites.....77 Age progression images of long-term missing children.....78 Comprehensive case review.....79 Inspiration and innovation in missing children investigations.....80 Back to basics.....80 Review.....80 Reconsider.....81 Reconnect.....81 The use of rewards.....81 Holdback information.....82 Additional case examples.....82 Technology…..84 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children…..84 National Crime Information Center…..85 National Missing and Unidentified Persons System…..85 National Institute of Justice…..85 Violent Criminal Apprehension Program…..85 Nlets…..85 Regional Information Sharing System…..86 Data management…..86 Hard copy files…..88 Document preparation…..88 Reconstruction of older documents…..89 Chapter 4: Evidence review by Patty Aagaard.....96 Quick reference.....96 Introduction.....96 Why do the review?.....96 Revisiting the crime scene.....97 Issues/challenges with evidence review.....99 Requirements for conducting the review.....102 Forensic databases.....105 Familial searching.....106 Conclusion.....107 Additional references.....107 Chapter 5: Child abductions involving long-term confinement by Mark Hilts, Kristen Slater and Jennifer Eakin....109 Quick reference.....109 Introduction.....109 LONG-TERM MISSING CHILD GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - 4 Offender considerations.....112 Traumatic bonding considerations.....113 Investigative considerations.....116 Media considerations.....119 Messaging.....119 The victim.....119 The public.....120 The offender’s inner circle.....120 The offender.....120 After the recovery.....121 Conclusion.....121 Chapter 6: Search considerations by Ray Harp; H. Wayne Sheppard; and Robert G. Lowery, Jr......122 Quick reference.....122 Case review checklist for search specialist in response to missing children.....123 Conduct a thorough review of all aspects of the investigation.....125 Review of case information.....125 Review of the victimology information.....125 Review of details surrounding the missing episode.....127 Review of suspect information.....128 Review of witness information.....130 Relationship to the incident.....131 Strategies for renewed or additional search.....132 Search plan development.....132 Special search environments.....135 Landfill search.....135 Making the decision to carry out a landfill search…..136 Who is responsible for the cost of a landfill search?…..137 Water searches.....138 Canine-assisted searches.....139 Concluding or suspending a search.....141 Family considerations…..141 Final considerations.....141 Chapter 7: The identification of unknown children by Angela Williamson and Robert G. Lowery, Jr......143 Quick reference.....143 Introduction.....143 Missing children and identifying unidentified children.....144 NCIC and NamUs.....145 Best-practice recommendations.....146 Victimology: How to obtain and ensure the most accurate data about unidentified children.....147 Forensic imaging…..150 Biometrics.....154 Fingerprints…..161 LONG-TERM MISSING CHILD GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - 5 Electronic submissions…..161 Manual submissions…..162 Latent prints…..162 Medical information…..162 Investigative considerations.....163 Unidentified living individuals.....169 Emerging technologies for medical examiners, coroners and law enforcement.....170 Media strategy.....171 Resources…..174 Sample unidentified child data form…..175 Sample unidentified case file checklist…..182 Unidentified child investigation recommendations…..185 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Forensic Services Unit…..187 Chapter 8: Family dynamics and survivor recovery: Understanding the relationships by Robert G, Lowery, Jr.; Duane Bowers; Robert Hoever; and Angeline Hartmann.....188 Quick reference.....188 Relationship with families: Overcoming the obstacles.....191 The basics…..191 As leads diminish…..191 Role of the law enforcement family liaison…..192 Factors to consider in the family liaison role…..192 Responsibilities of the family liaison…..193 Assisting families with the media…..195 Embracing social media to help with the search…..197 Social media considerations…..198 Using Facebook to raise awareness…..198 Law enforcement considerations when working with families…..199 Press conferences…..200 Remember: The family is in charge of the media event they create…..203 Related guidance for investigators: Overcoming challenges when family members are suspects…..204 Supporting families during identification…..206 Language and terminology…..208 Law enforcement and incident’s impact on the community…..210 Missing child reunification…..212 Setting the stage for a positive reunification…..213 Challenges when sexual exploitation is involved…..214 Reintegration: Moving forward…..215 In closing…..218 Appendix: Summit participants.....219 LONG-TERM MISSING CHILD GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - 6 Table of figures Chapter 1 Figure 1-1: High-profile case recoveries…..18 Figure 1-2: Children reported to NCMEC and missing six months or longer recovered/located between 2011 and 2015.....20 Figure 1-3: Children reported to NCMEC and missing six months or longer recovered/located between 2011 and 2015 organized by case type.....21 Chapter 2 Figure 2-1: Factors and categories possibly impacting criticality.....30 Figure 2-2: Multiple dangers faced by children missing from care.....33 Chapter 3 Figure 3-1: Case summary: Case resolution after 55 years.....36 Figure 3-2: Factors management should consider when selecting the lead investigator or case manager.....39 Figure 3-3: Common challenges to resolving long-term cases.....45 Figure 3-4: Resource: Old newspaper articles.....48 Figure 3-5: Case assessment.....53 Figure 3-6: Example questions to develop victimology.....53 Figure 3-7: Personal problems of the killers in child abduction murder study.....60 Figure 3-8: Prior crimes killers in child abduction murder study committed against children.....61 Figure 3-9: Case summary: Video surveillance evidence.....72 Figure 3-10: Case summary: Use of roadside canvassing.....75 Figure 3-11: Examples of age progressed images…..78 Figure 3-12 Case summary: One case resolution inspiring another.....83 Figure