More than 9,000 people are reported missing in Bavaria every year. This was announced by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA). As a result, 9,369 people were reported missing last year, in 2020 there were 9,290 and in 2019 even more than 11,000 people. Currently (as of March 15, 2022), a good 1,500 people are considered missing by the Bavarian police. Including more men than women.
According to the LKA, about three out of four people are found after less than three days. But some remain missing for a long time. Only a few do not reappear even after several months, years or even decades. Rarely is the search as spectacular as, for example, in the case of Peggy from Upper Franconia, whose body was only found by chance after 15 years by a mushroom picker. At the beginning of April this year – almost 21 years after the disappearance of the then nine-year-old girl Peggy – her remains were buried.
If a person has been missing for more than ten years (five years for people over 80), they can be declared dead by a court on application. However: “The number of missing people who are declared dead by a court is very low in Bavaria,” said an LKA spokeswoman. Not all people with unknown whereabouts are considered missing by the police. In addition, a danger to life or limb must be assumed, such as an accident, a criminal offense or an intention to commit suicide. This is always the case with minors.
Teenagers and children also make up the majority of missing persons. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), these are often unaccompanied refugees who are no longer in their allocated accommodation. But child abduction in a dispute between guardians can also be a reason for a missing person report.
In order to check whether a missing person may have died, there has been a federal database since 1992, in which not only missing persons but also previously unidentified corpses are entered. The State Criminal Police Offices also have access to this file.