We try our hardest to keep ourselves and our family and friends safe, from checking in on their whereabouts to sending up a prayer every now and then to ask that they be safe wherever they go.  

However, there may be unfortunate incidents when a person in your life does go missing. If not someone close to you, it could be someone whose friend or relative is close to you. What can you do in this situation? Or if someone else is going through this, how can you help? In this article, learn the best ways you can locate people in Australia. 

Reach out to the police 

The first thing you should do is reach out to the police. You may call them or go to a station nearest you, and they should be able to assist you immediately. Be prepared to share as much information as you can at this stage.  

It does not matter how much information you have at that point – you may only have a few details like the last time you saw them, what they were wearing, the last time you spoke, etc. Share everything you know first. What is important at this stage is to put the situation in the local authorities’ radar so they can set the wheels in motion.  

Then, once you have filed a report, you may start reaching out to your family and friends for help. You may ask the person’s friends where and what time they had last seen the person and who was with them at the time. You may try reaching out to establishments that the person may have gone to and see if they can give you any relevant information.  

Of course, the police would also be running their own search, but you can help them out by making these calls as well.  

Try and retrace their steps in your head 

If you know the person well, then you can imagine what their day was like. Had they been commuting on the way home when they were last seen? Where are they likely to go on a Friday night? If you noticed they had been feeling down and out lately, where do you think they likely to go?  

One of the best ways to complete this puzzle is to reach out to those who are close to them. If they cannot tell you where the person you are looking for is, they can perhaps give you more insight into their personality.  

Be sure to share all the information you’re able to collect with the police. As they try to locate people in Australia, any information at all will help. 

Get social media involved 

Social media today is an incredibly powerful tool. With how far a single post can reach, there is a chance a person out there has seen the friend or relative you are looking for. Nowadays, a lot of people put up a Facebook post or tweet the details of a missing-person situation. It is definitely not impossible to find a person in Australia with the help of social media.  

Posting on social media is worth a shot. Ask your friends to share or pass it along to make sure the post reaches as many eyes as possible. Whether or not you find any leads through social media immediately, you can get information sent your way for as long as the posts are up.  

You may also be getting other kinds of help on social media. If people do not have information to give, kind-hearted friends or family members may offer to drive you around the city, offer to host you at their home if they live in the area your friend or relative was last seen, watch your kids for you, etc. Any kind of help will be good for you in this situation.  

Put up flyers  

Putting together and printing out copies of missing-person flyers should be easy and efficient today. You can take care of this yourself or delegate this to other friends and family members. Even with how powerful social media is today, you still want to cover all bases.  

Make sure that the person you are looking for is accurately described in the flyer: height, weight, age, etc. Do not forget to include their picture. Also, make sure that the text is fully readable and attention-grabbing.  

Have a support system 

It is completely understandable if you are feeling anxious and confused. It is important to remember, though, that the sooner you get to a sound solution, the sooner you will find the friend or relative who has gone missing. So, if you have waves and waves of emotions crashing down on you, it would be helpful to have a support system to help you calm down and keep a level head.  

This may sound like a given, and the advice to stay calm is often left out in discussions like these because people want to jump to the concrete steps immediately. But plenty of people who have found themselves in this unfortunate situation try and do two things in the same mind at the same time: figure out a solution and calm themselves down.  

Doing both at the same time may only cause added stress and may even prove to be unproductive. So, it is worth it to emphasise to a friend or remind yourself how important it is to stay as calm as possible. With a clear mind, one can proceed to locate people in Australia more efficiently. 

Has it been a while since they were last seen? You might want to consider hiring a private investigator  

Private investigators can locate people in Australia using the specialised tools and databases they have access to. Plus, a private investigator can focus on your case only, which means you’re likely to get answers fast when you work with one. 

If you need to find a person in Australia, the team at Sticky Beaks Anon can help. Call us at 1300 882 433 or email us at info@stickybeaksanon.com.au.