It's not infotainment: Unresolved grief around missing persons needs more understanding
Families searching for answers about loved ones who are missing experience “ambiguous grief”, and a CQUniversity trauma expert says they need unique support to manage the stress of the search and the challenges of waiting.
Professor Sarah Wayland has researched trauma related to missing persons for more than 20 years, working closely with impacted communities who face unending or unresolved loss.
She says National Missing Persons Week (3 – 9 August 2025) can be a challenging time for families of the long-term missing.
Ahead of the annual awareness initiative, Prof Wayland has shared her insights about the often-hidden experiences of affected families and friends.
“Living with an unresolved loss has been shown in research to be one of the most traumatic experiences humans can face,” Prof Wayland explained.
Families of missing people are more likely to experience prolonged grief disorder, PTSD and major depressive disorders; the years of uncertainty have a toll on the physical, emotional and psychological health of people left behind.
“While the explosion of true crime podcasts and social media campaigns has given some of these cases unprecedented attention, there is still a lot of considerations that are ‘missing’ when we talk about missing persons.
“While families desperately want answers, often prying public attention and amateur sleuthing is adding to trauma, frustration and loss of hope.”
In 2023, Australia’s National Missing Persons Coordination Centre reported that more than 56,000 cases, about the safety and wellbeing of a missing person, or around 150 a day are notified to Police.
"Around 95 per cent of those cases are resolved within one month, yet more than 2,500 cases are long term – when a person is missing for longer than three months," Prof Wayland said.
Professor Wayland’s research has highlighted especially challenging aspects of missing persons experiences:
- Less than 1 per cent of people who go missing are suspected to be victims of crime, but public interest often focuses on criminal possibilities,
- More than half of those who go missing are aged 13 – 17, and these cases are often linked to the highest levels of community interest and imaginings about what might be occurring while they are missing – increasing pressure on families to address community panic and answer public criticism,
- Older people with dementia are a growing proportion of missing people, and families can reduce time missing by having proactive conversations about wearing trackable devices,
- A person who goes missing once is likely to go missing again, so even families reunited with loved ones live with ongoing fear.
Beyond anxiety and trauma around the uncertainty, Prof Wayland said people left behind can also be confused and frustrated by police and institutional processes around the missing person.
“Psychological burnout can also mean they might push away authorities, as they’re asked to repetitive retell their story, and feel it’s not having an impact in finding their loved one,” she said.
A 2015 study of Australian families by Prof Wayland found that increased media interest, and expectation of it generating new leads, also creates a “hope hangover”.
"Families told me this is where anticipation peaks, but they need recovery time to manage the emotional assault of a possible resolution, and fear of continued uncertainty.
"Families of missing people also told me they have to remain resilient as other cases are solved, while they still seek answers.”
