2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 15. Public Safety › Article 3D. Missing Persons Act › §15-3D-4. Missing Persons Complaints; Law-Enforcement Procedures

(a)
Complaint requirements
. A person may file a missing persons complaint with any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The law-enforcement agency shall attempt to collect the following information from a complainant and, as soon as thereafter as is practicable, shall then furnish the information to the West Virginia State Police:
(1) The missing persons name;
(2) The missing persons date of birth;
(3) The missing persons address;
(4) The missing persons identifying characteristics, including, but not limited to: Birthmarks, moles, tattoos, scars, height, weight, gender, race, current hair color, natural hair color, eye color, prosthetics, surgical implants, cosmetic implants, physical anomalies, and blood type;
(5) A description of the clothing the missing person was believed to have been wearing when he or she went missing and any items that might be with the missing person, such as jewelry, accessories, shoes, or any other distinguishing garments or items;
(6) The date of the last known contact with the missing person;
(7) The missing persons drivers license and Social Security number, or any other numbers related to other forms of identification;
(8) A recent photograph of the missing person;
(9) Information related to the missing persons electronic communication devices or electronic accounts, such as cell phone numbers, social networking login information, and email addresses and login information;
(10) Any circumstances that the complainant believes may explain why the person is missing;
(11) The name and location of the missing persons school or employer;
(12) The name and location of the missing persons dentist or primary care physician;
(13) A description of the missing persons possible means of transportation, including make, model, color, license, and identification number of a vehicle;
(14) Any identifying information related to a known or possible abductor, or the person last seen with the missing person, including the persons name, physical description, date of birth, identifying physical marks, a description of the persons possible means of transportation, including the make, model, color, license, and identification number of the persons vehicle, and any known associates;
(15) The name of the complainant and his or her relationship to the missing person; and
(16) Any additional information considered relevant by either the complainant or the law-enforcement agency.
(b) Upon receipt of the information required by subsection (a) of this section, the State Police shall monitor and assist in the investigation or, if the available evidence supports a conclusion that the missing person may have left the county from which he or she went missing, or at the request of the lead law-enforcement agency, the State Police shall supervise the investigation.
(c)
High-risk determination; requirements
.
(1) Upon initial receipt of a missing persons report, the lead law-enforcement agency shall immediately assess whether facts or circumstances indicate that the person meets any of the following risk indicators, which, if applicable, will be entered into NCIC:
(A) The person is or was likely involved in a natural disaster;
(B) The person is a juvenile, or was a juvenile when he or she went missing;
(C) The person is likely endangered;
(D) The person has mental or physical disabilities;
(E) The disappearance is believed to have been the result of abduction or kidnapping, or was otherwise involuntary;
(F) The person is 75 years of age or older;
(G) The person is under the age of 21 and declared emancipated by the laws of his or her state of residence; and
(H) None of the criteria in paragraphs (A) through (F), inclusive, of this subdivision apply, but additional facts support a reasonable concern for the persons safety.
(2) If, upon assessment, the lead law-enforcement agency determines that the missing person meets one of the classifications in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the lead law-enforcement agency shall:
(A) Immediately notify the terminal operator responsible for WEAPON system entries for the law-enforcement agency and provide the operator with all relevant information collected from the missing persons complainant as soon as possible. The terminal operator will enter all information into the WEAPON system and submit the information to the West Virginia State Police communications section. If the law-enforcement agency does not have an agreement with a local terminal agency, then the law-enforcement agency will contact the West Virginia State Police terminal agency for that particular area and request that the West Virginia State Police enter the information into the WEAPON system. Once the missing persons complaint has been entered into the WEAPON system, the West Virginia State Police communications section shall immediately notify all law-enforcement agencies within the state and surrounding region by means of the WEAPON system with all information that will promote efforts to promptly locate and safely recover the missing person. Local law-enforcement agencies that receive the notification of a missing persons shall notify all officers to be on the lookout for the missing person or a suspected abductor; and
(B) Immediately, and no later than two hours, after the determination that a juvenile is missing, take appropriate steps to ensure that the case is entered into the NCIC database with a photograph and other applicable information related to that missing person.
(d)
General requirements
.
(1) The lead law-enforcement agency shall take appropriate steps to ensure that all relevant information related to a missing persons complaint is submitted in a timely manner to the WEAPON system, and as applicable, NCIC, CODIS, NDIS, NamUs, and NCMEC. Any information that the West Virginia State Police obtains from these databases must be provided to the lead law-enforcement agency and to other law-enforcement agencies who may come in contact with or be involved in the investigation or location of a missing person.
(2) The lead law-enforcement agency or the West Virginia State Police shall submit any available DNA profiles that may aid in a missing persons investigation and that have not already been submitted by a medical examiner into appropriate DNA databases, including, but not limited to, NamUs.
(e)
Removal upon location of person
. Upon the determination that the person is no longer missing, the lead law-enforcement agency or the West Virginia State Police shall immediately remove or request the removal of all records of the missing person from all missing persons databases.