JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – More than 600,000 individuals go missing in the United States every year, and here in Missouri, 640 adults and 708 juveniles are listed as missing persons. Nationally there are 20,000 active missing person cases and 14,000 unidentified bodies. While many of these missing children and adults are quickly found, tens of thousands of individuals remain missing for more than a year before being labeled as “cold cases.”
A newly pre-filed bill could help close dozens of cold cases in Missouri, bringing closure to families of missing persons who have suffered without answers for years. HB 1716, championed by State Representative Tricia Byrnes, hopes to add Missouri to the list of states using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) to help identify missing persons and solve cases that have been left unresolved.
NamUS is a federally funded comprehensive database that allows law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and the public to access information related to missing persons and unidentified individuals by providing a platform for the storage, sharing, and analysis of data to assist in resolving cases involving missing persons, unidentified remains, and unclaimed bodies.
NamUs offers additional forensic services, investigative support, and public and professional user training. The system facilitates collaboration among different agencies and helps connect the dots between missing persons and unidentified remains by cross-referencing various data points, including DNA profiles, dental records, fingerprints, and other identifying information. All these services are free of charge.
Byrnes’ HB 1716 would require Missouri law enforcement agencies to use NamUS and file missing persons reports with NamUS within thirty days, while further preventing the cremation of any unidentified bodies to preserve the integrity of any possible DNA evidence.
“Five members of the Missing Person Support Center, including a forensic anthropologist, dispatcher, and three detectives from St. Louis and St. Charles County have been working with me for several months to help draft this bill,” said Byrnes, R-Wentzville. “They shared stories about real Missouri families that have spent 42 years looking for their son, only to find he has been an unidentified John Doe in another state for the entire time. This law will help provide closure for many families.”
Right now, the Missing Person Support Center, a national nonprofit founded by Della Williams specializing in missing persons’ cases, estimates that there are 120 unidentified persons in Missouri. However, they believe that number could be even higher. Often, these missing cases could be linked to crimes, which Byrnes says makes the passing of HB 1716 much more important.
“HB 1716 is also about protecting the public,” she said. “According to the experts that helped draft this bill, several of these cases appear to be victims of serial killers,” she said. “The more cases that can be solved, the more information we have to keep children and families safe.”
Additionally, NamUs has been instrumental in bringing victims back home to their families alive by quickly distributing photos and a full profile across the country where law enforcement and the public can participate in the search.” Byrnes added. “NamUs is a free resource with free training, and we must do everything in our power to ensure Missouri is using all available tools to bring home the missing.”
Although NamUs is free, DNA testing is not. Byrnes is searching for grant opportunities and state funding to assist law enforcement with the growing backlog of unidentified bodies that need specialized DNA testing to be identified.
“I’m concerned with how many bodies we will have once they are all accounted for in Missouri. Once we pay for DNA testing, it will be bone chilling to discover how many cold cases have been in our possession for years,” she said. “Unfortunately, this unidentified backlog of bodies is happening across the country and I don’t believe many Americans are aware of this fact.”
State Representative Tricia Byrnes, a Republican, represents part of St. Charles County (District 63) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to her first two-year term in November 2022. For more information, please contact Rep. Byrnes at 573-751-1460 or by email at Tricia.Byrnes@House.Mo.Gov.