Reported Missing - Episode Guide

In Darlington, the police are increasingly concerned for the safety of 12-year-old Joshua, who has stormed off after a row with his mum and seemingly disappeared. Prone to escaping into a superhero-inspired world of fantasy, Joshua's learning difficulties and trusting nature make him especially vulnerable, and as the minutes become hours, and as darkness falls, fears mount. It is down to Inspector Sarah Honeyman and her team to try to find Joshua. In a rural town in County Durham, the alarm is raised when 13-year-old Katie disappears from home leaving behind a suicide note. All available officers are immediately scrambled to the search, and a search dog and handler from the local Mountain Rescue team is drafted in - but budget cuts mean police helicopters are more thinly stretched than ever, and with the local one tied up on a firearms job, there is an agonising wait to try to get vital air support.

Just six weeks after his wedding, 28-year-old Darren vanishes, apparently into thin air, leaving Inspector Simon Orton and the team at Durham police baffled. As detectives dig deeper into events leading up to Darren's disappearance, they uncover secrets and lies. All is not what it seems, but there are many reasons why people don't always tell the police the whole truth and it is down to Claire McElvaney and her partner from Darlington CID to work out what is relevant to their investigation and what is not.

When Peter checks on his 82-year-old father at home one morning as normal, he finds the house empty. Suffering from advancing dementia, Archie has vanished - leaving no sign of where he might be. PC Geoff Moore's job is to get as much information as he can from Peter in the hopes of learning whether the problem is physical or whether somebody has taken advantage of his vulnerabilities. As an ex-paratrooper, Archie has been physically fit all his life and has been struggling to accept his increasing fragility. Dementia sufferers are known to travel vast distances when they disappear, and a full-scale land and air search is launched to find Archie. But as hours tick by without so much as a single confirmed sighting, and a neighbour comes forward with CCTV of potentially suspicious activity at Archie's home address, the police begin to suspect foul play.

In Macclesfield, Cheshire Police are left baffled by a report of a missing child. The father of five-year-old Tyler has reported his son missing, having not seen him in two years after a custody dispute with Tyler's mum Tracey. But things take a sinister twist when Tracey denies that Tyler exists. As the investigation goes into its third day, without any trace of the boy, fears for the five-year old's welfare gather pace. With the clock ticking, it's down to Sergeant Simon Degg and his team to solve the mystery.

On the other side of Cheshire, in Runcorn, 16-year-old Patrick has left his mum Victoria an ominous note. He's got himself in debt and needs to go away for a few days. Patrick's stolen money from his mum and he's sold his beloved PlayStation, making Victoria fear he's got himself into trouble with drugs. As a probation services officer, she knows the risks only too well. PC John Carter and PC Jason Hough have the task of locating Patrick and are only too aware of the town's problems. As the investigation unfolds, a man is threatened by a gang with a machete, leaving officers fearful for Patrick's welfare.

One winter's morning, 49-year-old George Richardson walks out of his home in Crewe. He tells his wife he is going to the job centre, but instead he vanishes. He has never disappeared before and wouldn't usually leave the house for longer than a few hours. It's the job of Inspector Daryn Wilcox and the team at Crewe Police to find him, but they uncover evidence that he has been secretive about what has going on his life. As time passes, George's family get increasingly frustrated at the perceived lack of action by the police and launch their own search around Crewe. As tensions mount, no-one can find a trace of him anywhere. The family are most concerned that he's not made contact with his youngest daughter Amy. After four days of searching, an alarming revelation escalates the investigation into a high-risk missing rersons case, but can the search helicopter and specialist resources find George before the unthinkable happens?

Cheshire Police launch a large-scale search when 77-year-old Jean mysteriously vanishes after leaving home to go to a doctor's appointment. As the investigation develops, they leave no stone unturned, calling in the services of Cheshire Search and Rescue volunteers, the National Police Air Service and the North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit.

Cheshire Police launch a major search operation for the missing 40-year-old Michael Price, but, as the weeks turn into months, the passing time proves torturous for his loved ones and they remain in limbo and frustrated at the lack of developments. Underwater Search, NPAS helicopters and specialist search resources check every nook and cranny of his home town of Northwich to no avail, and a number of potential phoned-in sightings from members of the public just add to the mystery. Last in the series.

The return of the programme following the hunt for missing people, from the police trying to finding them to loved ones left at home. The first edition focuses on Cheshire police's search for Mark Smith, an ex-soldier with PTSD who went missing after posting on social media that he wanted to end it all. Sgt Paul Chadwick assesses the case and is immediately concerned that a trained soldier in such a volatile state could pose a high risk - especially as Mark has previously stated that he would like to provoke police to shoot him. 

Police mount urgent searches for two people with dementia. Sheila has vanished from her husband's side during a shopping trip, while John has headed out alone into the countryside.

Gloucestershire Police face a series of increasingly complex searches for 59-year-old Michael, whose paranoid schizophrenia prompts him to disappear and go into hiding.

Gloucestershire police search for two vulnerable drug users. One hasn't been seen on the streets for two months, while the other has left hospital against his doctors' advice.

Police mount urgent searches for two vulnerable autistic young men. Eighteen-year-old Matthew has missed his usual bus home, while 29-year-old Luke has disappeared from his care home.

When 87-year-old Brenda gets a call from her son Gavin's neighbours, it brings alarming news. Fifty-eight-year-old Gavin has not been seen for two days and has vanished from his flat, leaving the front door wide open. Brenda alerts South Yorkshire Police, and PCs Toby Brown and Joshua Epworth head to the flat to meet her. They find the flat in disarray. Brenda reveals that Gavin suffers from schizophrenia and that his mental state has deteriorated lately. Brenda's alarm intensifies when she starts going through Gavin's things and discovers bank statements showing that the money he had saved has entirely gone.

In the centre of Sheffield, a call comes in about a student who has mysteriously vanished after checking out of his halls of residence. Although the student is an adult and entitled to go freely about his business, his parents report that he is prone to erratic behaviour, and they're concerned he's being exploited. His former flatmates reveal that his behaviour has changed since he has been going to a church in Sheffield.

When Nicola returns from taking her daughter to school to discover that her 52-year-old husband Mark has left the house, she immediately calls the police. The simple fact that he has gone out rings alarm bells, and even worse, he has left behind a worrying note saying he needs to ‘seek revenge'. When officers from South Yorkshire Police attend the scene, Nicola discloses that she thinks Mark's pocket knife is missing too.

Nicola is worried about Mark's mental health, which has recently deteriorated. He has suffered from PTSD ever since he was assaulted a few years ago, and in recent weeks he has gone missing several times. Mark's note states that he's heading to a street in Sheffield where he believes his attackers are based. Nicola also reveals to the police that Mark often heads to the Sheffield Canal, the place where he was attacked. Officers need to mount an intensive search of the canal, which is over four miles long, in the hope of finding Mark before it's too late.

Across the city in Ecclesfield, police receive a call about a woman who may be at risk of harming herself. Her son has woken up to find she has vanished from their house and posted her keys back through the letterbox. What makes it so alarming is that she never leaves home. She suffers from anxiety and depression and has spent the past 12 months shielding due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Upon discovering that she has previously attempted suicide, Inspector Matt Wood immediately classifies the case as high-risk. Concern mounts when officers at the family home discover that a quantity of the woman's medication may be missing. A potential CCTV lead proves a dead end, but the woman's phone data results present a worrying new possibility about where she may be.

It's 11:45pm when a woman calls South Yorkshire Police to report her sister missing. Office worker Yasmin has failed to return home from work, which she finished over six hours ago. According to her family, this behaviour is extremely out of character for Yasmin, who normally rings immediately after work to let them know she's on her way home. Attempts to ring her have proved fruitless, and her phone now appears to be switched off. Sgt Becky Jones dispatches officers to find out more from Yasmin's family. But almost as soon as she starts looking into the case, Sgt Jones comes across some worrying information: Yasmin's ex-partner is currently on bail for stalking and harassing her.

In Doncaster, a call comes in about another young woman who may be at risk. Amy has been staying with her mother since having a violent altercation with her ex-partner over a week ago. Today, she failed to pick her children up from school, and no-one has seen or heard from her since midday. It's now the evening, and with Amy still not answering her phone, her mum is becoming concerned for her welfare. PC Rob Hyatt from Doncaster Police Station starts investigating the case, and attention soon turns to Amy's ex-partner. Amy's social media status has suddenly been changed to ‘engaged' to her ex, but nobody knows whether Amy posted the update herself.

(Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those featured.)