U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) applauded the passage out of committee of legislation aimed at the federal updating missing persons database to include those who went missing on federal land or territorial waters.
The legislation, the TRACE Act, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday. The bipartisan, bicameral bill require the U.S. Department of Justice to include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems (NamUs) database an extra category that would denote cases where a person went missing or was identified on federal land or territorial waters.
If passed, the bill will also require the DOJ to submit an annual Congressional report outlining the number of cases of person missing or suspected of going missing on public lands or territorial waters each year. The move would allow family and friends of the missing a way to access and use information in NamUs, as well as provide law enforcement agencies with more information on individuals missing on public lands.
“Every year, people go missing on public lands without being recorded in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,” Tillis said. “This oversight is impeding law enforcement from keeping track of those who go missing to help search and rescue efforts. I applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation so these cases can be added to the database and potentially save hundreds of lives in the future, and I look forward to supporting this legislation on the Senate floor.”
According to a NamUs report, more than 600,000 people go missing in the United States annually. Many are resolved, but tens of thousands of cases are not. Officials said there are an estimated 640 million acres of federal land. Some estimates say at least 1,600 people have gone missing on public lands, though the actual number is thought to be much higher. Despite the estimates, there is no functional way to report people who have gone missing on public lands, officials said.
The legislation has moved on to the floor of the Senate.