The case - which is being treated as a suspected murder - has never been closed by North Yorkshire Police. Contact number 9310700000. In fact, quite the opposite may have been true. In the UK, for example, it is estimated that over 300,000 missing persons incidents are recorded by the police each year which means that a person in the UK is recorded missing by the police approximately every two minutes. Either by tripping as she jogged around the ships perimeter or after a rogue wave pulled her into the water. If a missing person does turn up - be it alive or dead - their families then encounter a whole new range of emotions. There is a 24-hour confidential helpline (116000) which provides emotional and practical advice and support. 4. Lancashire constabulary admitted that it was an unusual step for us to take to go into this level of detail about someones private life, but said it did so to avoid speculation or misinterpretation. Further details of the statutory requirement to notify the UKMPU are outlined in theCode of Practice. Missing Persons. Bulley, 45, a mortgage adviser from Inskip, Lancashire, vanished while walking her dog after dropping off her daughters, six and nine, at school more than three weeks ago, on 27 January. The risk of harm to the subject or the public is assessed as possible but minimal. On Sunday evening Bulleys partner Paul Ansell spoke of his agony at the discovery. Police believe Ms Lawrence who worked at York University was murdered, although no body has ever been found. It is, if nothing else, a pleasing idea. One missing persons case that kept me disturbed for days is the Andrew Irvine case. It seems almost guaranteed that she went overboard and drowned. Nicola went missing more than three weeks ago. Their cases remain open for a year of more and some for much longer. Police can refer families to Missing People for support at any point during an investigation. When 16-year-old factory girl Mary Flanagan left her home in East London for work on New Years Eve of 59, her family could never have imagined the prospect of never seeing her again. Missing people: of the 170,000 people reported missing nearly 98,000 are adults and more than 70,000 are children. Jackson Thomas reports. And so very, very often the missing person is female, and her disappearance is somehow a referendum on purity and wholesomenessnot just her own, but the community's as well.