52 PEOPLE reported missing in Ireland this year have not yet been found.
New figures from An Garda Síochána has revealed the worrying statistic that 52 people-- including 18 children-- have not been located after disappearing between January and mid-September this year.
In the report, seen by The Irish Times, 6,358 missing person reports were filed by family or friends so far this year, and 6,306 of those people were later found.
A massive number of children and teenagers are reported missing in Ireland each year-- about three-quarters of cases every year.
So far in 2020, of all missing person reports filed, 4,627 related to people under the age of 18. 4,609 were later found.
According to The Irish Times, by the end of 2019 30 people remained on the missing list out of the 9.489, who had been reported missing throughout the year.
Cold cases of people reported missing decades ago have been solved in recent years thanks to new DNA technology however, Carmel Griffin of the Garda Missing Persons Bureau said.
Ms Griffin urged people with missing family members to provide DNA samples, which can be uploaded to the missing persons database and could result in an identification.
Missing persons files are still reviewed on a regular basis no matter how much time has passed, she added, and she encouraged family and friends to renew appeals for information near the anniversary of the initial disappearance.
