Most men who go missing found drowned

THE National Crime Agency has issued a report of men who go missing and its findings are alarming.

It found that between January 2010 and August 2015 there were 96 fatal disappearances of men who were last seen ‘on a night out’ and had gone missing following an evening or night of socialising in an alcohol consumption environment such as pubs, bars, nightclubs or an event such as a wedding or a party.

Recovered from water

The men were aged between 16 and 62, with 71% aged 25 or under. One third were students. In 89% of the cases bodies were recovered from water.

There is evidence that the risk of fatality in these cases is very high compared to other types of missing incident. Data provided by one police force indicate that 60% of men missing on a night out for longer than two days will be found dead.

Missing on a night out

The missing on a night out sample consists of 96 cases of men who went missing. The parameters including cases as missing on a night out were that the missing person was known to have been socialising in an alcohol consumption
environment in the evening/night of their disappearance, that most typically meant the missing person had
visited pubs, bars or nightclubs, or had attended an event. However, people missing after socialising only in
their own house were excluded.

Nine out of ten disappearances from 'Last Venue Points' within populated areas resulted in the body of the missing person being recovered from water. The men were aged between 16 and 62 years old at the time of their disappearance, the most common age was 18 years old. 71% of the men were aged 25 or under. 30 of the men were students.

Consumed alcohol

In 81 cases there was a clear indication that the missing person had consumed alcohol and/or drugs prior to their disappearance. From the circumstances (e.g. leaving a nightclub or bar) it seems highly likely that most, if not all, were to some degree intoxicated.

From the information available it appears that in three quarters of the cases the missing person could be described as heavily intoxicated. Nearly one-fifth were moderately intoxicated, and less than one in ten were described as only mildly
intoxicated.