Johnson County Law Enforcement: Treating Each Missing Person Case Differently, But All Seriously

Back in July, a 16-year-old Alabama teenager boarded a bus after visiting Iowa City. He was scheduled to make a bus connection in Davenport on his way home.

He never showed up.

Even though Marshall went missing outside of Iowa City, some of his family members live in town and reported it to the Iowa City Police. According to Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton, the department decided to do what they could to help, releasing a press release to local media about the disappearance. Marshall  a few weeks later in Cedar Rapids.

Brotherton said this is an example of how a police departments response to a missing person report will vary depending on the circumstances involved.

"In police work you can't have a policy or procedure for every call that comes in," Brotherton said. "What I can tell you is that we look at all the circumstances and that is going to dictate how the situation is handled."

Joe Lalla, commander captain at the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, said that missing children reports will usually result in a deputy being dispatched to the location to help look for the missing child.

From that point the severity of the situation will dictate whether the deputy will need to call for assistance in the search, start a criminal investigation, use national resources such as A Child is Missing and Operation Quickfind. In more severe situations, an Amber Alert can also be issued when authorities have enough info to determine that the child may be in danger.

Lalla said in the case of missing children, parents should call the police or sheriff's office for assistance whenever they feel the need.

"Call as soon as possible," Lalla said. "Treat it seriously until you know differently."

Brotherton agreed, saying that people sometimes have the wrong impression from other media that you should have to wait for awhile before calling on a missing person.

"You can call the police any time you need help," Brotherton said. 

Lalla said the vast majority of missing children cases end up with the children being found near the home. Still, he said even though that many of the cases deputies go on are false alarms, cases like Johnny Gosch, Eugene Martin, and the Evansdale cousins, make it hit home that every case could be serious.

"It's our job to try to determine if it is something serious or not," Lalla said.