Introducing Quest

There are currently more than 13,000 people in the UK who have been reported missing and have never been found. That’s according to statistics released by the UK Missing Persons Unit (2020-21).

Many more just disappear and don’t ever appear on any missing persons list.

The scale of the problem is overwhelming - to the families who need answers; to the police who are tasked with finding the individuals and to those who vanish and want to be found.

“The police have the will and the skills, but not the capacity to review all of these cases,” said Dave Grimstead, CEO of Locate International, himself a former police officer.

“There are thousands of families where the resources to review all of these cases is just not available.”

This situation for missing persons is in stark contrast to a full-blown murder investigation.

“The reality is that most murder investigations are solved with teams of experienced investigators committed to finding answers,” said Dave.

“That level of resources is normally just not available to search for people who go missing.”

There are exceptions - and they often produce results.

Take for example the case of Melanie Hall. She was a young woman who went for a night out in Bath in June 1996 and never came back.

This became the largest missing persons investigations undertaken by Avon and Somerset Police. Her remains were eventually recovered by workmen on an M5 slip road in 2009.

“Since that day in 1996 teams of specialists have conducted extensive reviews to try and find answers,” said Dave.

“To see if anything was missed. To see if the forensic advances of today can be applied to a case from decades past.”

From the Byford Inquiry into the Yorkshire Ripper investigation through to the present-day, major crime review teams in the UK conduct in depth analysis to ensure no stone is unturned. They are keen to learn from each of these cases to advance serious crime investigations.

“Families of missing people tell us they just want to be sure that everything that can be done, has been done,” said Dave.

“They are pragmatic and understand it may not lead to the person missing from their lives being found, but they want to know that each case is analysed and reviewed to find out if anything can be done to prevent the same pain being experienced by other families.”

This is where QUEST comes into the picture. It’s an ambitious programme to conduct the largest investigation of long term unsolved missing and unidentified people ever undertaken.

It brings together families, police, industry and over 300 professionally trained community volunteers with a common purpose to ensure that all that can be done is done.

Dave added: “It’s vital that we learn from each and every case to seek answers as to why these cases remain unsolved and if anything can be done or done better.”