LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When you're scrolling through social media, it's not uncommon to come across a post of a missing person.
Maybe you started off just by seeing one, then it turned into two, then three or four. Experts have explained that missing persons cases are on the rise here in Arkansas.
"489 missing people. That's 489 families, coworkers, and friends with a lot of unanswered questions, and that's painful," said Major Stacie Rhoads with Arkansas State Police's Criminal Investigation Division.
She explained how there are a lot of factors that go into a missing persons case because each one is unique.
"You and I, we live by our debit cards, our cell phones. We have all of these things that it's easy to track but there's a large number of people that are homeless and there's no mechanism to help track them," said Major Rhoads. "So, when that happens, we rely on a lot of interviews, witness testimonies, if it's been two weeks since they've seen them, sometimes their memory isn't as great and we don't get as great of information."
As cases pile up, investigators bear the burden on their shoulders to help local police stations solve missing persons cases.
"I've got a missing person that I worked [with] as an agent in 2006. He went missing in August of 2006, Scott Jarrett. I still communicate with his wife, to this day and have no idea where he is and I'll never forget his name," Major Rhoads said.
She also explained that when working on these cases, you may hit a couple of dead ends but there are resources that ASP has at their disposal.
"One of the things that I think that has helped increase locating or helping backtrack missing persons, our license plate readers, you know, the state that those are huge going on the state right now to be able to track a vehicle license plate," Major Rhoads said.
Arkansas has no waiting period for you to report someone missing so the sooner you report someone missing, the better.
"You know, be nosy about what your family is doing. Having just all of this information from your family members and where to find it if you need it is a huge step in helping law enforcement should that impact your family," Major Rhoads said.
If you need to report someone missing, state police advise you to report it at your local police station first and ASP will get involved later if needed.