TRI-CITIES, Wash. – February 3 is National Missing Persons Day and was founded to help bring awareness to individuals who go missing across the United States every year.
According to a post from the Washington State Patrol, its Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit (MUPU) is responsible for issuing every Missing Persons Alert across our state.
According to WSP, MUPU issued 215 alerts for missing individuals in Washington State in 2023.
MUPU may issue four different types of alerts for missing persons:
Amber AlertsEndangered Missing Persons Advisory (EMPA)Missing and Indigenous Persons Alert (MIPA) Silver Alerts
For more information on the different criteria for each alert, the official blog for the Washington State Patrol, InsideOut, explains the criteria and distribution differences for each missing persons alert.
To encourage further discussions of missing and exploited children, the Department of Justice hosts its National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest for all fifth graders who wishes to participate.
The contest encourages schools, law enforcement and parents to engage in conversations with youth about missing children and promoting child safety.
The winner will win a trip to Washington D.C. for themselves, their parents/guardian and their teacher. Information for the 2024 Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest is available here.
Poster must be mailed and postmarked by February 26, 2024.
