Research and Resources
If you’re a family member or friend of a missing person, there are many resources available in Canada offering information and support.
This compilation of research and resources includes everything from academic, individual and community publications, to police websites, non-profits, search and rescue organizations, civilian and government databases, private investigators, and more.
Build your knowledge of missing persons cases, cold cases, unidentified decedents and unsolved crimes in Canada and around the world, and learn about the ways to get involved.
Missing Persons + Unsolved Crimes Resources
For families, friends, supporters, and anyone interested in learning more.
Last Updated: 04/05/22:
New resources & section added - StatCan Homicide in Canada (2020), StatCan Crime & Justice Statistics (2022), Human Trafficking resource section
06/24/21 - New resources & section added - Missing Persons Legislation (20), Victims of Crime Legislation (21)
05/21/24 - UPDATE for the Canadian Centre for Information on Missing Adults. New URL: CCIMA.caSources compiled by CanadaUnsolved.com, with contributions from various organizations.
Disclaimer: Inclusion does not indicate endorsement. Individuals choosing to contact or consult the following organizations or links should independently assess the information.
Quick Facts
There is no waiting period before you can report a missing person.As soon as you realize someone is missing, contact law enforcement immediately.Anyone can report someone as missing. You do NOT need to be a family member.It is not a crime for an adult to go missing.The majority of missing children and youth in Canada are reported as "Runaway."The Government of Canada National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR) publishes annual statistics for missing adults and children in Canada: NCMPUR 2019 Fast Facts
Sections:
MMIWG Research, publications and resources
Aboriginal organizations offering information for families of missing persons
Organizations and websites offering information & support to families of missing persons (Canada)
Websites featuring missing persons cases (civilian and police)
Organizations providing search information and services
General resources for exploring missing, unidentified & unsolved cases
Canadian resources for Information about missing persons
Missing children
Unidentified decedents
Resources for victims, families, friends and the public / Victim Services Directory
Resources & agencies by region/city
United States databases
Europe/International
Private investigators, non-profit organizations, blogs
Other research & resources
Academic articles/publications
Forensic artists (Canada & International)
Jane & John Doe cemeteries
Canadian podcasts
Missing Persons Legislation
Victims of Crime Legislation
U.S. / World podcasts
Human Trafficking
MMIWG Research, Publications + Resources
Master List of Report Recommendations Organized By Theme and Colour-Coded by Jurisdiction
This document outlines the National Inquiry’s broad scope of research. It sets out research clusters and themes that will allow the Inquiry to examine violence against Indigenous women and girls within the broader context of colonialism.
Lexicon of Terminology - a list of terms for use by the National Inquiry.
This document lays out the basic framework, vision, key considerations, project criteria and overall strategy guiding the research of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
NATIONAL INQUIRY INTO MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND GIRLS
FROM THE INTERIM REPORT: OUR WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE SACRED
MMIWG Inquiry - Terms of Reference
2. Aboriginal organizations offering information for families of missing persons:
3. Organizations and websites offering information & support to families of missing persons:
Canada
Free Bird Project (Facebook) - Non-Profit
Network of experts and volunteers assisting families of missing persons.
“To provide resources, skills, & loving support to families of missing people. Our Goal-To give families the toolset & care to plan their search”
Publications
4. Websites featuring missing persons cases
Civilian
The Please Bring Me Home Corporation began by searching for cold case missing persons throughout Grey and Bruce Counties in Southern Ontario.
Submit an anonymous tip or search cases by province.
The Doe Network – International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons
Police websites
National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (RCMP)
(See section 11 for police/agency websites organized by province)
5. Organizations providing search information and services
6. General resources for exploring missing, unidentified & unsolved cases
DNA Doe Project: DNA Doe Project - Donate
* Murderdata.org is a great tool for finding murder clusters and patterns.
**Contains links to active Amber Alerts, articles, advocacy campaigns and training programs.
7. Canadian Resources for Information about Missing Persons
Missing Persons - Recommendations - By Maureen Trask
A report on the need for a Missing Persons Framework in Canada - “Based on real life experiences from families with missing loved ones.”
Presentation Reference Materials for “Conversation about ‘Missing’ as a Social Issue” - By Maureen Trask, August 27, 2019
Databases & Research:
Doe Network - Canada Missing Males Geographical Index
Doe Network - Canada Missing Females Geographical Index
CanadasMissing.ca - Government of Canada
RCMP Family Guide to National Missing Person's DNA Program
RCMP Missing Persons Fact Sheets, 2015-2018
https://www.canadapolicereport.ca/edition/missing/
National/Other:
Guardians of Our Angels | Missing Persons Canada
The Please Bring Me Home Corporation began by searching for cold case missing persons throughout Grey and Bruce Counties in Southern Ontario.
It’s hoping to expand to 10 person investigation teams in every province by the end of 2020.
Submit an anonymous tip or search cases by province.
8. Missing Children:
Missing Children Society of Canada
Offers families support in the search for their missing child and provides educational resources to help prevent children from going missing.
Canadian Centre for Child Protection
Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children grant
The Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children grant is available to people who have suffered a loss of income while coping with the death or disappearance of their child, as a result of a probable crime.
9. Unidentified Decedents:
British Columbia Unidentified Human Remains Interactive Viewer
Cold Cases:
Toronto Police - Homicide Cold Cases
General information list:10. Resources for victims, families, friends and the public:
Support for Us - Families with Missing Loved Ones | Facebook
Maureen Trask’s Facebook page for families of the missing, including a peer support group offered through Self Help and Peer Support, Waterloo Wellington, CMHA.
Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime - Agencies
Ontario Office for Victims of Crime
The OVC does not provide direct services to victims of crime. If you, or someone you know is a victim of crime and needs help or has questions, call the Victim Support Line (VSL) toll-free at 1-888-579-2888, or in the Greater Toronto Area at (416) 314-2447.
A non-profit organization that offers tools for families of missing persons.
It is geared toward Aboriginal families in Manitoba, but useful for any family with a missing loved one.
Missing Children Society of Canada
Offers families support in the search for their missing child and provides educational resources to help prevent children from going missing.
UPDATED: Canadian Centre for Information on Missing Adults
Canadian Centre for Child Protection
Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children grant
The Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children grant is available to people who have suffered a loss of income while coping with the death or disappearance of their child, as a result of a probable crime.
11. Resources & agencies by Region/City:
ALBERTA:
Alberta | Missing People Canada
Alberta Missing Report Database
Cold Cases | Calgary Crime Stoppers
Unsolved Homicides | Edmonton Police Service
Edmonton Police - Navigating the Missing Persons Process
BRITISH COLUMBIA:
Cold Cases | Vancouver Police Department
British Columbia | Missing People Canada
British Columbia - Public Safety - Missing Persons - General
Missing Persons Unit | Vancouver Police Department
VictimLinkBC is a toll-free, confidential, multilingual telephone service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-563-0808.
It provides information and referral services to all victims of crime and immediate crisis support to victims of family and sexual violence, including victims of human trafficking exploited for labour or sexual services.
Victim Services & Violence Against Women Program Directory
MANITOBA:
Manitoba | Missing People Canada
Missing Persons - Manitoba Crime Stoppers
NEW BRUNSWICK:
Missing Persons | N.B. Crime Stoppers
New Brunswick | Missing People Canada
NEWFOUNDLAND:
Missing Persons - Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
Crime Stoppers of Newfoundland & Labrador - Missing Persons
Newfoundland | Missing People Canada
Missing Persons Archive | NTV.ca
RCMP | Newfoundland & Labrador
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES:
Northwest Territories & Nunavut Crime Stoppers | Missing Persons Cases
Northwest Territories & Nunavut Crime Stoppers | Unsolved Crimes
NOVA SCOTIA:
Nova Scotia Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes
Nunavut | Missing People Canada
Tribunals and Boards | Department of Justice
ONTARIO:
Unsolved Cold Cases | Toronto Police Service
Toronto Police Missing Persons Unit
Simcoe County Case Files | Barrie Police
York Regional Police Cold Case Files
Missing adults:
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND:
PEI Crime Stoppers Awareness Guide
Missing Persons | Charlottetown Police Service
QUEBEC:
Service de police de la Ville de Montréal:
Missing Persons, Unsolved Murders, Potential Victims, Unidentified Remains & Wanted Persons
Missing Children’s Network - Québec
SASKATCHEWAN:
Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police Missing Persons
MissingPeople.ca - Saskatchewan
Saskatoon Police Service - Missing
Cold Cases | Regina Police Department
YUKON:
Missing in Yukon - Missing People Canada
VictimLinkBC is a toll-free, confidential, multilingual telephone service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-563-0808.
It provides information and referral services to all victims of crime and immediate crisis support to victims of family and sexual violence, including victims of human trafficking exploited for labour or sexual services.
12. United States:
Databases & ResearchNamUs.gov - National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
Wikipedia - Unidentified Murder Victims in the United States
Wikipedia - Unidentified Murder Victims in the United States by State
National Institute of Justice (Missing Persons Cases, Unidentified Decedents and Unclaimed Persons, Identification in Mass Fatality Incidents)
List by State:Unidentified Decedents:
Unidentified Decedents in the United States
Resources
14. Private Investigators, Non-Profit Organizations, Blogs
Canadian Private Investigations: British Columbia Specialized Investigations (BCSI)
Canadian Private Investigation Services (CPIS)
Local, National & International Search Teams
Missing Family Members
For the Legal Profession
Skip Tracing
Canadian Centre for Child Protection
United States:Private Investigations for the Missing
Non-profit organization providing investigative services for loved ones of missing people. Founded by Bruce Maitland, the father of Brianna Maitland, who disappeared March 14, 2004 when she was 17 years old.
Missing Persons Charitable Organization
The foundation was formed October 23, 1993 to search for Polly Klaas. It is devoted to preventing crimes against children, assisting in the recovery of missing children, and lobbying for legislative assistance.
Blog written by the mother of Michaela Joy Garecht, who was abducted November 19, 1988 in Hayward, California.
In early 1989, Jim and Helen Kilroy began searching for their missing son, Mark Kilroy. Four weeks later, they learned that Mark had been kidnapped and murdered and used as a human sacrifice by a drug smuggling cult in Matamoros, Mexico. Mark was a 21-year-old University of Texas at Austin, Texas pre-med student on spring break. During the search and after the discovery, Mark's parents received thousands of letters and talked with many people who told them of the destruction in their lives caused by drugs and the related violence.
15. Other Research + Resources
Other Research Resources:Missing Persons Research Hub, created Jan. 2021 by Lorna Ferguson, University of Western Ontario.
Features researcher profiles, blogs, podcasts and Missing Persons Research papers/journals for networking and research.
About | Missing Persons Research Hub
Fact Sheets, Studies & Interactive Maps:
Canadian Centre for Child Protection - Abducted then Murdered: A Canadian Study
StatCan: Homicide in Canada, 2020
StatCan: Crime and Justice Statistics (2022)
StatCan: Homicide in Canada, 2017
StatCan: Homicide in Canada, 2018
U.S. Department of Justice - Unidentified Human Remains in the United States, 1980 - 2004
Journal of Forensic Sciences: John and Jane Doe: The Epidemiology of Unidentified Decedents
16. Academic Articles/Publications:
Killing the competition: Female/female and male/male homicide
Daly, M., Wilson, M. Killing the competition. Human Nature 1, 81–107 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692147
Craig J R Collie, Exploring the Boundaries of Missing Persons: Hidden Interplay Between Policing and Private Entities in Relation to Cases on the Periphery, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, , paz061, https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paz061
Geoff Newiss
First Published March 1, 2004 Research Article
https://doi.org/10.1350/ijps.6.1.27.34460
Article Information | Volume: 6 issue: 1, page(s): 27-36 | Issue published: March 1, 2004
Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains: The Nation’s Silent Mass Disaster
February 1, 2007
By: Nancy Ritter. National Institute of Justice.
Notes from the Field: Solving Missing Persons Cases in Indian Country
November 20, 2019
By: Cornelia Perry, Criminal Investigator, Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations
NIJ: Solving Missing Persons Cases
by Beth Pearsall with Danielle Weiss
NIJ JourNal / Issue No. 264
Who is missing? The realities of the missing persons problem
J.DavidHirschel: Department of Criminal Justice University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA
Steven P.Lab: Criminal Justice Program Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
Available online 29 May 2002.
17. Forensic Artists
Canadian Artists:General Info & Artists in the U.S.: Ask a Forensic Artist - Age Progression
Wes Neville - S.C. Area Director for Doe Network and Project EDAN
18. Jane & John Doe Cemeteries
Jane and John Doe Cemeteries:
19. Canadian Podcasts:
Canadian Cases or Hosts:
Someone Knows Something (CBC)
The Shadows (CBC)
Hunting Warhead (CBC)
Uncover (CBC)
The Pit (CBC)
Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo (CBC)
Boushie (CBC)
Canadian True Crime
20. Missing Persons Legislation:
21: Victims of Crime Legislation
Victims’ Bill of Rights, 1995, S.O. 1995, c.6
Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.24
22. U.S. & World Podcasts:
U.S. & World:
The Vanished
Serial
S-Town
Crimetown
Up and Vanished
Criminal
Last Podcast on the Left
Small Town Murder
Accused
Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff
In the Dark
Hell and Gone
My Favourite Murder
True Crime Garage
Casefile
Sword and Scale
Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories
Gone Cold
23. Human Trafficking
1. Trucking and Human Trafficking (The Lanier Law Firm)
Includes statistics and information about signs / “red flags” of human trafficking, the ways in which truck stops are used for human trafficking, and how truck drivers can help.
Compiled by CanadaUnsolved.com