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- For the New Wave rock group Missing Persons, see Missing Persons.
A missing person is someone who has disappeared for a long period of time, commonly with no known reason. Their faces on photos are often posted on bulletin boards, postcards, and websites, with a phone number to call if someone sees that missing person. There are many reasons for disappearances: runaway, throw away (abandoned), kidnapping/abduction, slavery, sexual slavery, child stealing, child sexual abuse, child pornography, prostitution (often combined with drug addiction), wage slavery, serfdom, sweat shop work service, unfree labor, shang-hai, secret disposal of the body after homicide, death (by natural causes, accident or suicide) after which the body is not found, or simply moving without notice.
Over 100,000 people disappear per year in the United States, roughly 80% of which are children. A common misconception is that a person must be absent for 72 hours before being legally classed as "missing", but this is rarely the case; in instances where there is evidence of violence or of an unusual absence, law enforcement agencies often stress the importance of beginning an investigation promptly. Commonly, after seven years as a missing person--and lacking any contrary evidence--a missing person can be declared "legally dead".
Over a million people are reported missing each year, but roughly 90% of them are found. The remaining are labelled 'missing'. President George W. Bush has called for increased law enforcement in the area of missing people.
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"Missing person"