Padilla, Tillis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Find Missing Persons on Federal Land
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to add a new category to the existing National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems (NamUs) database, which would allow the public and law enforcement to mark cases where a person went missing or was identified on federal land, including specific location details.
This new feature allows family and friends of people missing on public lands to more easily enter this information in NamUs, while law enforcement agencies work to improve national records of missing individuals. The Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere (TRACE) Act also requires DOJ to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the number of cases from the previous year involving individuals who went missing or were suspected of going missing on public lands.
“Thousands of people go missing on public lands every year in the United States, but without an effective tracking system, law enforcement faces significant challenges in finding them,” said Senator Padilla. “Public lands should be safe for everyone. That’s why Senator Tillis and I are introducing bipartisan legislation to improve data accuracy and accessibility, give law enforcement better tools to resolve cases, and bring peace of mind to affected families.”
“Every year, thousands of people go missing on public lands without being recorded in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,” said Senator Tillis. “This oversight is impeding law enforcement from keeping track of those who go missing to help search and rescue efforts. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan, bicameral legislation so these cases can be added to the database and potentially save hundreds of lives in the future.”
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are cosponsoring the legislation.
According to a NamUs report, over 600,000 people go missing in the United States annually. While the majority of these cases are resolved, tens of thousands of people remain missing every year.
There are approximately 640 million acres of federal land which include national parks, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management lands. Estimates suggest that at least 1,600 people have gone missing on public lands, though the number is likely much higher, as isolated or rugged terrain on public lands can make it especially difficult to find or identify people who go missing. Despite this, there is no functional system to report people who have gone missing on public lands. Having accurate data on how many people go missing on our public lands every year is crucial to aid search and rescue efforts and resolve cases.
NamUs is the main system used by law enforcement, families and friends of missing persons, medical examiners, and coroners to report unidentified remains and missing persons, and it is also used by the public.
The TRACE Act is endorsed by the Public Lands Solution, Jewish Women’s Institute, Major County Sheriffs Association, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), NDAA, Raven, National Association to End Sexual Violence, and the Outdoor Industry Association.
In 2023, Senator Padilla and Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02) called on DOJ to place dedicated personnel in California as part of their Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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