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Pastel_Mermaid_ t1_j7zocai wrote

Are they allowed to file a missing persons report if it’s been less than 24 hours since you were last seen?

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letmeseesubreddits t1_j7zoyqz wrote

i was called by the sheriff’s office and told i was filed as missing. i’m not sure if the report would’ve went through until 24 hours had passed or not. i told my grandparents that i thought they had to wait 24 hours to even try to file one but they shut me down with “no! I just called 911, they are coming.” (copy and pasted). within two to three hours they had police at my home, at my former high school talking to my friends who still attend, at my workplace, etc. so maybe not. i do live in a small town where a lot of commonplace laws are ignored or looked over and that may be one of them.

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TheThiefMaster t1_j7zvr1p wrote

I believe it's not true that it has to be 24 hours. If they have reason to believe that you should be somewhere and can't be found, you're missing and it can be reported.

However once it's explained they can look like fools to the police, and possibly be charged for the callout.

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letmeseesubreddits t1_j7zwizx wrote

i googled it and you’re right, apparently 24 hours is a commonly believed misconception. i’m hoping the police won’t take them as serious next time because they have a very long history with the police here, but this is one of the few, far in-between times they have done something to me specifically, so i’m guessing it was taken more critically due to that. once i explained to the sheriff i was fine everything was called off and i just went back home so they wouldn’t try again.

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Taolan13 t1_j80s3ut wrote

You definitely want the police to take every missing persons report seriously, which is why it is deadly serious your grandparents do not abuse the system to try and control you. Establishing a "pattern" could result in the one time they finally do report you missing when it matters getting ignored because its "yet another runaway report from grandma" followed up with "shes an adult now she can do what she wants" and you're actually lost or missing.

Did you tell them you may not be coming home that night? If so, totally unnecessary. If not, what they did was a bit extreme but not totally unwarranted.

Remember. Boyfriend/girlfriend also includes the word "friend" so "crashing at a friend's house since they live closer to work" is an accurate statement.

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StatisticianLivid710 t1_j7zwd5w wrote

24 hours to report missing isn’t an actual law, it’s just garbage used on tv to create drama.

When I was in high school I didn’t have a curfew or anything, just had to let them know where I was. The key was making sure my mom knew, my dad was much more laid back, so if I talked to him I had to make sure he told my mom or that she was there when I told him. In this case it might just be getting into the habit of letting them know you won’t be home after work.

As a teenager you see it as them trying to control you, as an adult you realize that you want to know where they’re going to in case something happens to them. The mistake made in this situation was a complete lack of communication between your mom and grandparents. However, if your grandparents are your legal guardians (as opposed to your mother) you should’ve let them know where you were as opposed to your mom.

100% your grandparents should’ve asked your mom before phoning friends and random people though.

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tortillakingred t1_j7zvzjj wrote

This is a very common misunderstanding. You can report someone missing after like 20 minutes if you have reason to believe they’re missing. It is up to the discretion of the police to decide whether or not they want to look into it.

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Maiyku t1_j805io6 wrote

That’s a super common myth that even police departments will tell you, because so many “missing persons” end up being found (This incident is the perfect example of this) and ends up being wasted resources.

There is no minimum to report someone missing.

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7hr0wn t1_j80628m wrote

That's not a thing except on shitty made-for-TV crime dramas. You can - and should - report a missing person as soon as you notice they're missing.

As a general rule, don't take legal advice from Law and Order.

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Drawmeomg t1_j806pgs wrote

Yes, there’s no time limit. Time is the MOST important factor if someone is missing and the belief that you have to wait X days is very dangerous.

Theres a lot of messed up stuff with this situation (most notably the threat that it’ll continue past turning 18), but someone with parental authority over a minor who earnestly believes the minor to be missing should call the police, they should not be waiting.

(Whether the grandparents earnestly believed that in this situation is another question entirely)

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moo3heril t1_j80cdwn wrote

Yes, they are. Admittedly for when we did it, it was for a young child, but there's no real limit if you reasonably believe someone is missing, as far as I know.

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