New figures from a freedom of information request have revealed that from April 2007 to the present day, the States police has dealt with 8,318 reports of missing people.
According to the States, most are found within a few hours and some may be reported missing several times.
A 2010 review of missing persons cases found that two historic cases remain open – one from 1959 and the other from 1980.
According to the States, in May 1959, ‘a female visitor arrived in Jersey. It is understood that she intended to meet with friends from Guernsey’.
‘She had arranged for her suitcase to be delivered to St Helier Harbour. It was later discovered, minus her passport. She had possibly intended to sail back to England on a private yacht.’
The second open case dates back to the 1980s, when a visitor is believed to have gone missing while swimming in rough
seas.
A news story from the JEP at the time said the woman in question was holidaying with her parents in the new year, and went missing in January 1980.
A full-scale police search was launched after the woman went for a swim at Corbière.
The woman, Lauren Farnworth, had been on holiday visiting her parents, who lived on the Island.
She had gone for a swim in the afternoon with the family dog, which returned without her.
Her clothes were found on a rock, with the honorary and States police being informed.
Eventually the searches for both of those people were called off, but the cases officially remain open.
