In Switzerland, several thousand people are reported missing each year, but the authorities rarely initiate a public search.
About 4,700 people go missing annually, according to Sunday newspaper SonntagsZeitungexternal link. The newspaper based this figure on data from 13 cantons. Many of the missing – 44% in cantons Basel City and Fribourg, for example – are under 18.
However, the local authorities only ask the public for help in 2.8% of cases – notably when a suspect, a child, or an elderly person in poor health is unaccounted for. As authorities told the SonntagsZeitung, they are more cautious about launching a manhunt for a healthy adult who might just need some time away. Police also cite their reluctance to frighten the person or worry the public.
In 2017, canton Geneva had the most missing people: 1,668. However, Geneva recently improved its system for reporting anyone missing. Police there initiated formal searches for five people; three are still missing. The other 1,665 were found, but 11 of them were dead.
In comparison, Zurich launched 11 searches for 285 missing people, and Ticino authorities tried to find 33 of their 83 missing – with great success. All but two of the missing were found, including two children spotted near a train station.
All rights reserved. The content of the website by swissinfo.ch is copyrighted. It is intended for private use only. Any other use of the website content beyond the use stipulated above, particularly the distribution, modification, transmission, storage and copying requires prior written consent of swissinfo.ch. Should you be interested in any such use of the website content, please contact us via contact@swissinfo.ch.
As regards the use for private purposes, it is only permitted to use a hyperlink to specific content, and to place it on your own website or a website of third parties. The swissinfo.ch website content may only be embedded in an ad-free environment without any modifications. Specifically applying to all software, folders, data and their content provided for download by the swissinfo.ch website, a basic, non-exclusive and non-transferable license is granted that is restricted to the one-time downloading and saving of said data on private devices. All other rights remain the property of swissinfo.ch. In particular, any sale or commercial use of these data is prohibited.
