Missing persons report or no?
 

I was watching the news last night. As the story on the recent trial in Florida ended they began talking about a new law proposal that would basically require reporting a missing child within 24 hours. 'Caylee's Law' petition drive: Do missing child laws need to change? - Yahoo! News

Immediately after that they ran a story of a 15 year old girl that was missing ( she is not missing anymore ) in a nearby San Diego neighborhood for less than 24 hours. There was a massive mobilization of multiple agencies, command posts set up and volunteer searchers involved. Now the authorities are considering the family of the girl pay for the whole deal ( @ 10K IIRC ) . 15-Year-Old Girl Reported Missing Found - San Diego News Story - KGTV San Diego

I am not trying to start a war here, I would pay to have any of my kids returned unharmed.
What about people that wait a bit because they are afraid they would have to pay? They would then be guilty of a felony. I would like to read your thoughts on this.

First we need a law banning all knee-jerk laws in response to some huge event. They are always short-sighted and fraught with unintended consequences. If the threat of capital punishment didn't deter Casey Anthony from killing her baby, I doubt some minor charge of failing to report a missing child within 24 hrs. would have done much to save Caylee. This is as stupid as Peter King's suggestion that no one be allowed to carry a gun with 1000 yds. of an elected official in the wake of the Tucson shooting.

Anyone who files a false report needs to go to jail. But I have to ask how much it really costs to mobilize a massive search, when most of the participants are salaried state employees who will get paid the same whether they're out looking for bodies or writing parking tickets.

If someone close to you goes missing then you should report it to the police.
Regardless of what may have happened in an individual case reported in the media.

Nobody know your kids or loved ones better than you.

99.99% of missing children are reported missing long before a 24 hours period already. As said, another unenforceable law will accomplish nothing.

+1 enough of the knee jerk laws already!

A child who truly goes "missing" should be reported. However, there are many many "missing person" reports taken by law enforcement by parents who have a 16 year old who is pissed off at their parents and takes off for a friends house without telling the parents where they are going. The parents just want law enforcement to go do their parenting for them. Its important to distinguish between this scenario and a child who truly goes missing in the scary sense of the word.

As posted above, knee jerk responses to anything almost never work out they way people want them too, there are always many levels to consider.

I used to deal with missing persons reports as part of my job. The public has no idea on the vast number of irresponsible people that just don't come home. Kids that have "runaway", kids that stay with friends, husbands that get drunk and spend the paycheck in the bar, the list goes on and on.......

Some family units see nothing wrong with someone disappearing for days, even weeks. Mothers that drop the baby off with a friend and go on a drug binge for a week.

You can't have a law that covers all the bases all the time. Just passing a law will not make people obey that law. Over 98% of "missing persons" are not in any danger and left on their own free will....u

There needs to be a law against knee-jerk laws.

No new laws until we enforce the laws already on the books...

We need to pass a law that says they can't pass a new law unless they repeal two old ones.

not a bad idea at all!