Missing persons beyond serial killers and unexplained disappearances Lorna Ferguson

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ferguson, Lorna (Criminologist), author.

Series:

Palgrave studies in victims and victimology 2947-9363

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Missing persons.

Missing persons--Investigation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cham Palgrave Macmillan 2026

Summary:

This book offers a rigorous and accessible examination of missing persons that moves beyond the dominant true crime focus on serial killers, cold cases, and unexplained disappearances. Drawing on years of fieldwork, more than 220 interviews and surveys with first responders, and analysis of over 20,000 missing persons reports, it reveals missingness as a continuum shaped by everyday life events, structural vulnerabilities, and institutional responses, as well as rare cases of serious harm. The book examines who goes missing and why, how media and true crime shape public understanding, and how police, search and rescue volunteers, families, and communities work to locate the missing. It also looks forward, asking what prevention might look like if missing persons were treated as a sustained social priority rather than episodic mystery. Bridging research, practice, and public engagement, this book makes a distinctive contribution by shifting the conversation from fascination to responsibility, and from reactive searching to systemic understanding, prevention, and care. Lorna Ferguson is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Regina and is the Founder of Canada's Missing Persons Research Hub

Contents:

1. Framing the Issue: Introduction to Missing Persons

2. Beyond the Headlines: Missing Persons in Context

3. Stories and Real Lives: Dissecting Media, True Crime, and Missing Persons

4. Shock, Mystery, Meaning: Our Obsession with Crime Media and True Crime and Its Consequences

5. The Work of Finding Part I: Police and SAR Volunteer Responses

6. The Work of Finding Part II: Families, Loved Ones, and Beyond

7. A Way Forward: From Realities and Responses to Prevention and Reduction

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed June 1, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Ferguson, Lorna Missing Persons

Print version :

ISBN:

9783032194565

3032194563

OCLC:

1593493664

Publisher Number:

CIPO000354566

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license