Changes and Improvements Are Coming to Leon County Missing Persons Cases

• The Leon County Board of Commissioners recently received a report on the county's ability to further support law enforcement by amplifying alerts to the public about missing persons.
• The Tallahassee Police Department has also made major changes to how it alerts neighbors about missing cases since the Lori Paige case.
• Watch the video to hear local law enforcement leaders explain why the changes and public campaigns are happening.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Law enforcement and local leaders in Leon County say more efforts are needed to amplify missing persons cases.

I'm studying the changes Tallahassee police have made since the Lori Paige case and other local efforts to bring children home safely.

Research shows that children are most likely to go missing.

This is one of the reasons Leon County government is devoting more resources to missing persons cases in our neighborhoods.

“We've been working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Leon County Sheriff's Office, just to see how we can help them,” said Kianna Gilley, public information and communications officer for the Leon County.

The Leon County Board of Commissioners recently received a report on the county's ability to further support law enforcement by amplifying alerts to the public about missing persons.

“In our research on this topic, we found that approximately 840,000 people go missing each year in the United States and 85 percent of them are children,” Gilley said.

The report recommends that the county conduct a public awareness campaign to direct the public to state law enforcement platforms and local resources, such as the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

“They said, it would be great if you could just educate residents, like we do, on how to access alerts and sign up for alerts,” Gilley said.

The Tallahassee Police Department has also made major changes to how it alerts neighbors to missing persons cases since the Lori Paige case.

“We no longer use elopement on our missing persons fliers,” said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

One year after the disappearance of 13-year-old Lori Paige, ABC27 sat down with the TPD Police Chief to discuss lessons learned about improving missing persons reports.

“The question arose: Why, why are we doing this?,” Revell said. “How important was it to put that out there? And I just didn't like the fact that it was there. Because for some people in our community, it can lessen the seriousness of the situation, if they see a runaway, they think: oh, it doesn't matter, let's not waste a lot of resources on this, when in essence it really has nothing to do with it.

Missing persons advocacy groups have long called for nationwide changes in how missing children are classified when alerts are sent to the community.

In 2023, TPD told WTXL that 494 children under the age of 18 were reported missing. As of May 31, 2024, 3 files remain open/active.

Between January 1 of this year and June 1, TPD said 177 children under the age of 18 were reported missing. And as of June 3, 2024, 6 files remain open/active.

“We know that people run away for a variety of reasons, maybe it's just a rebellious youth or child, maybe there's a really bad situation at home, maybe -be, you know, there are mental issues involved,” Revell said. “There are all kinds of factors that go into why someone might run away from home. But it really shouldn't have any bearing on how we investigate the case. So it's really a change that has been brought.”

Leon County's public awareness campaign will begin in September to coincide with Florida's Missing Children's Day.

Florida's Missing Children's Day is observed annually on the second Monday in September. In 2024, it will take place on September 9.

Here's how you can help find missing people now:

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing Persons Clearinghouse: This website is a central location for information on missing and endangered people in Florida. You can search for missing persons, register a missing person, learn more about missing persons resources, and sign up for alerts here.

Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) Social Media: Follow TPD on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Where they post updates about missing people.