La Mirror’s Missed campaign was launched on Mother’s Day, March 30, to advocate for improved support and care for the 170,000 individuals who go missing annually in the UK, including 75,000 children, and their families. In collaboration with the national charity Missing People, the campaign aims to raise awareness and facilitate the safe return of at least one person by 2025 by sharing their poignant stories.
One success story emerged in May when 17-year-old Deante James, who had disappeared from his London residence, was located unharmed a few weeks after his story was featured in The Mirror. His mother, Vandana, expressed immense gratitude towards the publication for its role in reuniting them, stating, “When I got the call from the police to say he’d been found I was over the moon – I couldn’t stop crying. Thanks so much for everything the Mirror has done.”
The Mirror’s Missed campaign has spotlighted numerous missing persons cases since its inception, with four mothers sharing their emotional narratives on Mother’s Day, hoping for assistance in finding their missing children after years of searching. The campaign continued its impact on Father’s Day, as bereaved children expressed their longing to embrace their absent fathers, urging them to return home.
Additionally, The Mirror has introduced an interactive map that enables users to report sightings of missing individuals confidentially and share the information on social media. The map displays missing persons in specific areas, along with photographs, ages, and duration of their disappearance.
The campaign has been nominated for the 2025 Making a Difference Award, organized by the News Media Association during Journalism Matters Week, highlighting the positive influence of journalism on society. With a person going missing every 90 seconds in the UK, the campaign emphasizes the necessity for a new strategy to address missing children and adults, advocating for enhanced collaboration among law enforcement, healthcare, and social services. Public support through voting for the Missed campaign is crucial to driving these initiatives forward.
Readers are encouraged to participate by voting for the Missed campaign before the deadline on November 6. The link to cast your vote can be found here: [https://newsmediauk.org/making-a-difference-vote-2025/](https://newsmediauk.org/making-a-difference-vote-2025/).
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