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Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Endangered Missing Person Alert information for law enforcement

Minnesota law enforcement agencies are required by Minnesota law to issue an Endangered Missing Person Alert if your missing person case meets any of the following criteria:

  • The person is missing as a result of a confirmed abduction or under circumstances that indicate that the person's disappearance was not voluntary
  • The person is missing under known dangerous circumstances
  • The person is missing more than 30 days
  • The person is under the age of 21 and at least one other factor in this paragraph is applicable
  • There is evidence the person is in need of medical attention or prescription medication such that it will have a serious adverse effect on the person's health if the person does not receive the needed care or medication
  • The person does not have a pattern of running away or disappearing
  • The person is mentally impaired
  • There is evidence that the person may have been abducted by a noncustodial parent
  • The person has been the subject of past threats or acts of violence
  • There is evidence the person is lost in the wilderness, backcountry, or outdoors where survival is precarious and immediate and effective investigation and search and rescue efforts are critical
  • Any other factor that the law enforcement agency deems to indicate that the person may be at risk of physical injury or death, including a determination by another law enforcement agency that the person is missing and endangered

If your missing person is not endangered, you have the option of issuing a Missing Person Alert

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)-certified law enforcement personnel may distribute an Endangered Missing Person Alert through the Crime Alert Network. Personnel will receive a username and password once certification is completed

Login to the Crime Alert Network.

Law enforcement personnel needing assistance sending an Endangered Missing Person Alert should contact the BCA at 651-793-7000. For assistance with login issues contact Crime Alert Network Office at 651-793-1120 or dps.mcan@state.mn.us.

Law enforcement Endangered Missing Person Alert certification training

Training to become certified to issue Endangered Missing Person Alerts, as well as information on how to complete and distribute alert forms, is available in the nexTEST Training Library, titled Alerts – Crime, Missing, and Endangered. New users must view the training to obtain the certification required to issue alerts. 

Alert forms available in Launch Pad

In addition, fillable Endangered Missing Person Alert forms are available in Launch Pad in MNJIS Resources. The BCA can assist agencies as needed with filling out and distributing the forms.

Information for families of missing people

Get information that you can provide to families when a person is missing or has been abducted.

Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse

To gain additional attention for a missing person case, law enforcement agencies may choose to request that information about a missing person be posted on the BCA’s Minnesota Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse page.

Steps

Before a missing person can be listed on the Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse, these steps must be followed:

1

A missing person report must be filed and entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing person file by the investigating agency.

Download and print out the Minnesota Missing Person Bulletin Information & Release Form and fill out as completely as possible. Incomplete forms will need to be validated prior to posting.

2

Sign and date the form.

Please note that there are two places to sign: the Information/Photograph Release and the signature line at the bottom of the form.

3

Collect recent photographs of the missing person, especially clear head shots.

4

Send the completed form and photographs to the BCA Missing Persons Clearinghouse via one of the following methods:

Option 1

Email the completed form and photographs to: bca.missing-persons@state.mn.us

Email the photographs in a standard image format (.jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png). Include the case number, case contact, and the missing person's name in the email.

Option 2

Mail the completed form and photographs to:

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Minnesota Missing & Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse

1430 Maryland Avenue E.

St. Paul, MN 55106

For more information about the Minnesota Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse, call 651-793-1118.