Identification of Missing Children in Suspicious Circumstances

ABSTRACT: In most cases, the authorities face cases in which the parents are desperate for the disappearance of the minor children, with the paid pedophiles, with the traffickers, with the pimp, which to some extent infringes on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the minors. The number of juveniles declared missing is increasing every year, most of them being located or returning home, but there are also cases in which minors are never found or identified as victims of crimes. Taking into account the deep pain and suffering of the parents of the missing children, who often do not know their fate for years, the authorities make every effort to speed up investigations and locate the missing children. When a juvenile is declared missing, it is essential for the investigator to know his or her signals and to have all relevant information referring to the person of the minor. If the disappearance of the child was reported many years ago, the original photograph loses its usefulness, because the minor progressively changes its appearance as time goes by. In cases where the description of a minor, after the external reports, is ambiguous, does not have sufficient information or the ones that have been rendered are not sufficient for his identification, the technique jumps to the aid of the criminals and through methods that are constantly developing, establishes certain vital details or information required. KEYWORDS: disappearance, forensics, identification, minors, photograph