Stay Vigilant: GCPD offers safety tips in light of recent missing persons cases

GRUNDY CENTER - In light of the growing attention towards missing persons in Iowa, the Grundy Center Police Department is offering tips to help citizens stay safe.
 
GCPD Officer Alissa Loew says the statewide concern has led to an increase in calls coming in to the department regarding suspicious persons or activities.
 
“We don’t generally get a lot of [missing persons cases] around here, but we always encourage people to stay vigilant, and call us if they see something or someone suspicious, or if something just doesn’t feel right,” she said. “There’s no need for people to be alarmed, but we have to stay vigilant and alert, and be aware of our surroundings.”
 
Recently, the Iowa Department of Public Safety released a statement reporting that there is currently no uptick in missing persons - particularly juveniles - in Iowa, and that numbers are in line with the yearly average.
 
“[In regards to] the missing person investigation of Mollie Tibbetts, concerns have come to light about the number of juveniles reported missing in Iowa in recent weeks,” the statement reads. “In [fiscal year 2017] 4,311 juveniles were reported missing to The Missing Person Information Clearinghouse. This is an average of approximately 12 juveniles a day. The vast majority of which are found or returned home within 24 hours. Typically these cases are runaway situations. The number of missing juveniles reported in recent weeks is in line with historical numbers.”
 
Loew says that even though there isn’t an uptick in missing persons, per se, it’s good for citizens to stay vigilant.
 
“If there was some pressing concern, we would let people know about it, but right now, it’s a good time to have a conversation with people, and we’re hoping to give people a reminder to not get complacent just because we live in Grundy Center,” she said. “We still need people to report suspicious activity, and it’s important to report it right away. You should never feel like you’re wasting our time, because it’s better to call us even if it’s nothing than to have an issue go unreported.”
 
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