Signed into law by President George W. Bush as part of the national “Amber Alert” bill, this federal law requires law enforcement to notify the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) any time a person under age 21 is reported missing. Previously police were only required to report missing persons under the age of 18. The law is named after Suzanne Lyall, a 19 year old University of New York at Albany student who has been missing since 1998. The law is intended to impel police to initiate prompt investigations of young persons who have gone missing. The DPS & EM at the University of the District of Columbia complies with this law.

The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (DC MPD) publishes a Missing Persons Guide that provides instruction on immediate actions to be taken for missing persons. There is no time period for reporting a person missing in the District of Columbia.

To view the DC MPD Missing Persons Guide go to http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a, 1237,q,547480,mpdcNav_GID,1549,mpdcNav,|.asp