Thousands of missing person reports investigated in Glasgow in 2022

Data exclusively obtained by the Glasgow Times shows that officers investigated a total of 16,576 missing people from January 1, 2022, until December 6, 2022.

The figures were broken down by age following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Thirty pensioners over the age of 90 disappeared last year, meanwhile, 278 reports were in connection with young children aged between 0-9.

Cops probed the disappearance of 9878 youngsters aged between 10-19 – the highest number of reports out of all the age ranges.

More than 460 of the reports were wanted criminals or absconders, meanwhile, 3920 reports were made regarding children in the care of the local authority.

The majority of people who go missing do return home – but sadly this isn’t always the case.

Glasgow man Peter Doherty’s body was found in Paisley in May 2022 – more than two weeks after the 53-year-old went missing from Govan.

Sophie Johnston vanished after leaving her home in Partick in November 2022.

Officers tragically found the 35-year-old’s body in Milngavie.

At the time, police said that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.

On October 5, 2022, Barry McCullagh went missing after leaving the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

To this day, the Castlemilk man has still not been found.

He is described as 5ft 9ins in height, of medium build with short, black hair. When last seen, he was wearing navy jogging trousers, a black jumper with a zip, and silver trainers.

In November, we previously reported that Barry’s family said their lives had been torn apart following his disappearance. 

His sister Stacey said: “We are heartbroken. We just want Barry to come home safe and well.

"Someone must know something. It’s impossible for a person to just vanish from the face of the earth without any trace.

“I can’t eat or sleep for worrying that something awful has happened to him or where he could be. I don’t know if he’s lying somewhere injured or in a vulnerable state. The uncertainty is tearing me apart.

“Every time the phone rings we are hoping it’s him or someone with good news. It’s getting harder and harder for us to stay positive as the days and weeks go by."

Police Scotland is currently investigating dozens of long-term missing people cases such as Tom Graham.

The 30-year-old was last seen in the early hours of October 27, 2018, in Edinbeg Place, Toryglen.

Police described Tom, from Drumchapel, as a “high-risk missing person”.

Stuart Clark has been missing from his home in Dalmuir, Clydebank, since Sunday, January 17, 2016.

Weeks after his disappearance, officers re-appealed to the public for help.

At the time, Inspector David Quinn said: “It is now just over three weeks since Stuart was reported missing, and although he has been known to go missing before, he has never been gone for this length of time without contacting his family or friends.

“Last week, we issued CCTV of Stuart on the train between Cardross and Dalmuir on January 17.

"We understand he may have been in Macs Bar on January 18 and I’d like to speak to anyone who may have been in that public house and who may have seen Stuart inside at that time.

“You may have vital information which might help with our ongoing enquiry.”

Meanwhile, the investigation into the disappearance of Mary Duncan first began 57 years ago.

The 17-year-old was last seen leaving her home in Alexandria on March 19, 1976, after telling her family she was going to meet a friend, but never returned.

Since then, extensive investigations have been carried out, however, no trace of Mary has been found.

Anyone with information about any of the missing people above is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.