Making an Impact

We’re thrilled to share that Missing People have been working closely with the team at Emmerdale to highlight the emotional reality of a missing person’s experience through a powerful new storyline. Every 90 seconds, someone is reported missing in the UK, yet awareness of the issue remains low. By bringing this to life on one of the nation’s most-watched soaps, we hope to shine a light on the trauma and uncertainty thousands of families endure every day.

This storyline began in Emmerdale’s Christmas Day episode, when Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) discovered his teenage daughter April (Amelia Flannagan) had run away. As he searches for answers, he realises how much he didn’t know about her struggles- while facing every parent’s worst nightmare that he may never see his daughter again. Later on, in February, Emmerdale aired a special standalone episode that recounted the heart-breaking story of April and her life on the streets.

Following last year’s success, we once again took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge from 3rd-10th December 2024. This incredible campaign allowed supporters to double their donations until the match fund pot ran out – thanks to the generosity of the Reed Foundation and long-term supporter Phil Hodkinson who matched funds of up to £15,000.

Christmas is a time when families come together, hoping their missing loved one will return. Fathers like Kevin, who has not seen his son Andrew since he disappeared in 2007, continue to wait in hope. We have been there for Kevin throughout his journey, and as he shared, “I don’t know if I’d be sat here today without Missing People.” His words are a powerful reminder that our support is vital.

We’re thrilled to share that this year’s campaign was our most successful yet! We reached our £30,000 target two days early, raising an incredible £30,295 in total.

Our annual Impact Report shows how we are meeting the needs of missing children, missing adults and their families across the UK.

In the last year, we reached more missing people than ever before with nearly 45,000 missing people receiving an SMS message offering our confidential Helpline support.

When it comes to the search, in 2023-24, 288 children and young people and 491 adults we searched for were found safe.

Please click the button below to read our most recent Impact report in full.