Related releases

International Conference for Police and Other Experts on Missing Persons - Invitation for the Media 14 October 2022
Domestic violence – police procedure 23 November 2021
Sexual harassment - advice for victims and eyewitnesses 3 November 2021
Experts discuss a common approach for rapid and safe recovery of missing persons 1 September 2021
My child is missing, what can I do? 17 June 2021
Kidnapping, extortion, hostage-taking - advice 12 April 2021
How to deal with a terrorist attack or mass shooting 9 April 2021
Project Be a star, don't throw firecrackers 3 May 2018
When I Become a Victim of a Crime 3 September 2015
Be careful when finding unexploded ordnance from the First and Second World Wars 9 July 2015
Stepping out of the dark 18 June 2015
Grape harvest time - do not stay in unventilated wine cellars! 17 June 2015
Advice for safe attendance at sporting and other events 15 June 2015
Safe use of pyrotechnics 12 June 2015
How to deal with a robbery 9 June 2015
 

Reporting a missing person. What to do when someone goes missing?

When someone suddenly and unexplainably disappears or goes missing, it is an extremely difficult, stressful, and emotionally intense situation for everyone close to them (their family, friends, colleagues, etc.) as well as for the wider community. They find themselves in great distress and worry, as the situation may seem hopeless at first.

a desperate elderly gray-haired woman standing on the street, covering her face with her hands

It is important to be aware that only quick and thoughtful action will often contribute to the successful finding of a missing person. The first step should therefore be to report to the police, especially when it comes to vulnerable persons (e.g. the elderly, sick) or children. The police will assess whether a search operation should be carried out immediately in a specific area and who should be included in the search. They will also be able to provide the family of the missing person with the necessary support and advice.

The list of missing persons

The online list of missing persons includes persons who, for known or unknown reasons, are absent from a certain environment, about which the police have been informed or have determined this themselves.

We only publish publicly information about those missing persons for whom we have assessed that the general public can help us in their search:

Anyone who has noticed the missing person or knows anything about their disappearance is asked to notify the nearest police station or call the police number 113 or the police anonymous number 080 1200.

Online list of missing persons (only in Slovenian)

Don't wait to report a missing person - time is the decisive factor!

The police have been warning for many years that the myth of a 24- or even 48-hour deadline for reporting a missing person is absolutely not true! Such a deadline never existed. The police officers advise to report a disappearance as soon as possible - this is especially true for children and vulnerable people, or if the missing person's life is in danger (e.g. due to the risk of suicide).

The police respond quickly to every report and immediately begin to implement their tracing measures. Our primary goal is to find the missing person as soon as possible.

The less time that passes between the disappearance and the missing person being reported, the greater the chance that the missing person will be found alive and unharmed. Do you know that in more than half of all cases, missing persons are found within just a few hours? More than 70 percent of missing persons are found within ten hours, and more than 80 percent within one day.

Where can you report it? Call the police on 113

Since It is not good to delay reporting a missing person, especially when it involves children and vulnerable people, we advise you to call the police number 113 as soon as possible and they will advise you on what to do next, or they will send police officers to help you.

You can also contact the nearest police station directly.

List of police stations and their contacts

Who can report a missing person?

We emphasize that anyone can report the unexplained absence or disappearance of a person from their environment, regardless of whether the person reporting comes from the person's family, work, or wider social environment.

It is crucial that the person reporting knows the missing person and is able to provide useful information when making the report. The success of the search for a missing person may also depend on this data.

The missing person's report should contain information about the individual physical and psychological characteristics of the missing person and the circumstances of the disappearance, as well as of the environment where the missing person lived and worked. For the police, any information about a missing person is important, even if it may seem insignificant at first glance.

What information is useful to provide to the police on reporting?

It is recommended that you provide the police with as much useful information as possible when reporting a missing person, which will help make the search more successful. For the successful work of the police, the following sets of data are so important that you will be asked for when reporting:

  • personal data of the person (name and surname, date of birth, place of birth, residential address, previous permanent and temporary residences, citizenship, gender, people with whom they lived and usually socialized),a of the person (name and surname, date of birth, place of birth, residential address, previous permanent and temporary residences, citizenship, gender, people with whom they lived and usually socialized),
  • time and place of disappearance (where and who last saw the missing person, with whom, direction of movement),
  • a detailed personal description of the missing person, preferably with a photograph (physical characteristics, objects, jewelry, etc.),
  • what were the statements and description of the person's behavior before their disappearance,
  • possible previous absences (where the person was staying when they were missing),
  • what has already been done to find the person (which facilities and areas have been inspected, checking with relatives, etc.)
  • addresses of friends and relatives,
  • the existence of suspicion of a criminal act (possible motives that the disappearance of a person is the result of a criminal act),
  • other circumstances and reasons for the disappearance,
  • comparative material that the police need for a possible identification procedure if there is a suspicion that the missing person will be found dead, for example due to suicide, accident or natural death (photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples, data from the missing person's dental records),
  • where and how the person who submitted the report will be reached.

Related content

Searching for missing persons
My child is missing, what can I do?
Personal safety

Accessibility(CTRL+F2)
color contrast
text size
highlighting content
zoom in
Accessibility statement Report an accessibility problem