Online Dating Sites Key Factor In Missing Persons

Online dating sites key factor in missing persons

BANGKOK: -- A recent study on missing persons has revealed that online dating sites are the most dangerous for teenage girls.

"Current trends suggest that more girls go missing than boys," Dr Patchara Sinloyma said yesterday, adding that those between the ages of eight and 17 were most at risk.

Patchara, who led the study that was financed by the Thailand Research Fund, listed online sites as a key reason for people going missing.

According to her, available statistics show that 1,527 people have gone missing this year alone, and nearly all of them had participated in online chats. About 411 had clearly been lured away by sexual predators.

"Other significant key factors are addiction to online games, family problems and life in urban areas," she said.

"The other reasons behind the disappearances can be abduction, murder, accident, kids running way from home and mental disorders."

She added police investigations into missing persons were hindered by the lack of an efficient fingerprint database.

"Relevant authorities do not have an integrated online system either," she lamented, adding that having too much work was another reason why police could not do much about disappearances.

Pol Lt-Colonel Chavalit Ketsrimek, an expert in finding missing persons, said investigators should be considerate and do their best in solving cases. "Officers can use so many laws to search for missing persons, such as the Children Protection Act, Alien Acts, Anti-Human Trafficking Act and Labour Protection Act," he said.

Information on missing persons and techniques for efficient investigation are now available at www.thaimissing.com

-- The Nation 2009-11-10

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