Missing People undertakes in house research and supports external researchers in exploring the issue of missing people. The charity sits on a number of advisory and steering groups for external research projects, contributing its expertise and providing advice and guidance.

In these pages you will find published research reports by Missing People as well as research conducted using information from the charity.

Living in Limbo provides an account of the devastating impact that going missing can have on family members left behind, including emotional, social, financial, legal and practical difficulties.

The charity has launched a campaign to improve the rights of families of missing people, as a direct result of the findings of the Living in Limbo report. To find out more you can visit the Missing Rights Campaign page.

A Research Summary is also available:

Living in Limbo: Summary (1.13 MB)

An important element of Missing People's work is to develop a clear understanding of the knowledge base which links going missing with child sexual exploitation. As such, the charity's 'Still Hidden?' report provides policy makers and practitioners with an overview of the literature that connects these issues.

Lost from View, a publication by the University of York, presents findings from the most extensive study of missing persons yet undertaken in the UK. It provides important new information on the motivations and circumstances of both missing adults and children and is the first study to draw directly on the views and experiences of missing adults themselves.

Learning from Fatal Disappearances, published by Missing People, is a study of 250 missing incidents that were closed by the charity over a two year period. Learning from Fatal Disappearances has important implications for many agencies working with missing people, including the charity itself, the police, the wider social care sector and government.

Learning from fatal disappearances highlighted a specific group of cases involving young men who had gone missing on a night out and were later found dead in water.

Going missing on a night out: men found dead in water is a research summary, produced by Missing People, that gives further details on cases identified in 2010 and in the first four months of 2011.

This research highlights the relationship between the 'missing' issue and intellectual disability, with a view to offering better support to people who may be considered at risk of going missing.

The paper also seeks to define terms such as 'intellectual disability' and 'missing', using specific cases to highlight areas to focus for improving support for vulnerable people.

The charity, supported by the Oak Foundation, conducted a two-year study of Runaway Helpline and Message Home. A number of summary reports are available to download by clicking on the following links. Further reports are due in 2012.