When a relative or friend goes missing abroad it can be very distressing and you may feel at a loss as to what to do about it.

If you are in the UK and worried about a British national who you think is missing abroad, we can let you know how to produce a missing person's report for your local police so Interpol enquiries can begin.

Contact the FCO

Contact the FCO in London on 020 7008 1500 or if you are abroad yourself then contact us here.

Although we cannot carry out physical searches on your behalf, we can give you information about appropriate local authorities. We can also give you contact details for any relevant local charitable and voluntary organisations specialising in tracing missing people.

Detective agencies

Where appropriate, we can give you information about the federation or association of any local private detective agencies.

If you want, Consular staff in London can meet family representatives, maintain contact with you and tell you about any new developments.

If you suspect that a relative or friend is missing abroad you should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London on +44 (0)20 7008 1500 and ask for the Consular Directorate, stating the country in which you think the person is missing. The FCO Assistant Desk Officer repsonsible for consular matters in Belgium can then pass your enquiry to our British Embassy in Brussels to find out if your relative or friend has come to our attention.

If you are in Belgium yourself, you should contact us.

It is important that you provide as much information as possible about the missing person:

- Full name
- Place and date of birth
- Passport details
- Insurance details
- Itinerary
- The last place, date and time contact was made
- Mobile phone number / e-mail address

 

Informing the UK / Belgian police

 

• If you are in the UK and worried about a British national who you think is missing in Belgium, we would advise you to contact your local police station to file a missing person’s report. You should make a specific request that they inform the UK National Central Bureau of Interpol, who have resources and jurisdiction to investigate missing persons and liaise with foreign police. The FCO can inform you how to produce a missing person’s report for your local police so Interpol enquiries can begin.

• If you are in Belgium you can report the person missing to the nearest police station. You can find a list of police stations in Belgium on www.info-zone.be. It is important that you give the Belgian police as much information as possible about the missing person. Ask the police for a reference number which is the “Proces Verbal” also called “P.V.” number in Belgium in order to facilitate access to the file at a later stage.

 

What we can do

 

• We can check our records to see if there is any trace of your relative or friend. If they have come to our attention, the Data Protection Act 1998 may limit the information we would be able to pass on to you. We also have a duty to respect the privacy of our consular customers.

• We can liaise with the local authorities (police, communes, hospitals, prisons) and keep you informed of their progress.

• Although we cannot carry out physical searches on your behalf, we can give you information about appropriate local authorities. We can also give you contact details for any relevant local charitable and voluntary organizations specializing in tracing missing people (see below)

• Where appropriate, we can give you information about the federation or association of any local private-detective agencies.

• If you want, consular staff in London can meet family representatives, maintain contact with you and tell you about any new developments which we find out.

• If you have not already done so, you may also wish to consider getting in touch with one or all of the following organizations mentioned below. All of which are known to have considerable experience and some success in tracing individuals abroad. You should be aware that these organizations are likely to have the same confidentiality constraints that we have and, if they find your relative or friend, will probably have to give your address to him / her rather than give you their address without their permission.

• You can also find advice in the FCO publication: Missing Persons Abroad

 

Useful addresses and contacts

In Belgium
- Belgian Missing Persons a.s.b.l. – v.z.w.
Tel: +32 (0)84 31 33 18
Mobile:  +32 (0)495 51 90 54 (French) - +32 (0)495 51 90 55 (Dutch)
E-mail: missing@skynet.be

- Child Focus (for missing children)
Emergency number 110 (free number in Belgium)
Tel: +32 (0)2 475 44 99 (when calling from abroad, not free!)

- Armée du Salut a.s.b.l. / Leger des Heils v.z.w. (Salvation Army)
Family Tracing Service
National Headquarters
34 Nieuwe Graanmarkt
1000 Brussels
Tel: +32 (0)2 513 39 04
Fax: +32 (0)2 513 81 49
E-mail: info@BEL.salvationarmy.org

 

In the United Kingdom
- The Salvation Army
Family Tracing Service
101 Newington Causeway
London SE1 6BN
Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 4747

- International Social Service
Crammer House (3rd Floor)
39 Brixton House
London SW9 6DD
Tel: +32 (0)20 7735 8941
info@issuk.org.uk

- The Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society
International Tracing and Message Services
International Welfare Department
44 Moorfields
London EC2Y 9AL
Tel: +32 (0)870 170 7000
iwd@redcross.org.uk

- National Missing Persons Helpline
Roebuck House
284-286 Upper Richmond Road West
London SW14 7JE
Tel: +32 (0)20 8392 2000
Freephone: 0500 700 700

Missing Abroad

The Lucy Blackman Trust have set up 'Missing Abroad' to assist families whose relatives go missing overseas. We will add the details to our public website and have agreed with the organisation that we will pass their details to any families who would like them, but it will then be for the family to contact 'Missing Abroad' directly to establish if they can help. They aim to provide advice and support to families including assistance in mounting a search campaign. Contact details which can be handed to families are:
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7047 5060
Email: matt@lbtrust.org
24 Hr Page: +44 (0)7666 868609