There are a myriad of reasons why people go missing, but it's the not knowing for families and loved ones that causes the greatest anxiety.

According to An Garda Síochána, the number of missing persons reports increased from 8,404 in 2020 to 11,014 in 2024. Between 2011 and 2023, there were over 40,000 missing person reports made to An Garda Síochana.

Some of these cases were resolved within hours or days as the person reported missing either returned home of their own volition, was found and returned home, or was located either here or abroad but who decided for many reasons not to return home. 

The actual number of people missing in 2020 was 3,334 and this increased to 4,080 in 2024. To date the number of people still missing varies year on year, while in 2024 there was a total of 88 people still missing. There are 840 live or active cases of missing persons on the Garda Pulse system.

While many of these cases may not see the light of day in the media for a variety of reasons, there are those tragic cases where the remains of those missing are located, or have vanished in thin air, and in unusual or violent circumstances that require further intensive investigation by gardaí.

In each case there is a risk assessment made and there are protocols that must be followed if there is a perceived or real risk to an individual.

An investigating officer will be assigned to each investigation and this will be reviewed by the local superintendent or someone acting on his/her behalf to ensure that all investigative actions are pursued in an appropriate and efficient time sensitive manner.

While most who go missing are found, there are those very well-known and recognizable cases, where after many years of investigation and false starts, where the person is still missing and believed to be deceased.

They are Trevor Deely in Dublin, last seen on Haddington Road in December 2000; Annie McCarrick from New York who left her Dublin flat in March 1993 and was last seen in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow; Jo Jo Dullard, hitchhiking from Moone village in Kildare to her home in Callan, Co. Kilkenny, in November 1995; Deirdre Jacob who went missing in Newbridge, Co. Kildare in July 1988; Sandra Collins, a pregnant woman, who was last seen at a takeaway in Killala, Co. Mayo in December 2000; Barbara Walsh a mother of seven who was last seen at her home in Carna, Co. Galway on June 22, 1985; and finally the mystery of Sheila and Conor Dwyer who were last seen coming out from the local church in Fermoy to go to their home in Chapel Hill, Fermoy, but who were reported missing after April 1, 1991.

All of these cases have been the subject of many Garda reviews and media documentaries over the past number of decades; it is important that we never forget those victims or their families.

While the vast majority of missing person cases are solvable, and have positive outcomes, there are those cases which I have outlined that are still to be resolved. 

There are also cases where evidence and suspects have been identified but can't be moved forward, given the passage of time, witness memories, or where suspects have died or moved abroad, and have not revealed the whereabouts or the circumstances of those they disappeared.

If you have, or you know of someone that may have vital information in any of the investigations mentioned in this article then you need to contact your local Garda Station or contact the National Missing Persons Helpline at 1800442552.

Evidence, no matter how small or insignificant, may be the clue that leads to the location of a victim and or the suspect themselves.

• Christy Galligan is a retired Garda Sergeant based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.