by Chicago, Illinois — Families in Illinois no longer have to wait before reporting a loved one missing. A new state law that took effect Jan. 1, 2026 now requires law enforcement agencies to accept missing persons reports immediately and begin investigating without delay.
The legislation, known as Senate Bill 24 or the Missing Persons Identification Act, was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on Aug. 15, 2025. Supporters say the law addresses long-standing concerns that families were sometimes told to wait hours—or even days—before filing a report.
Under the new law, Illinois police cannot delay accepting a missing persons report, regardless of the person’s age or circumstances.
The measure is intended to speed up investigations and ensure critical information reaches state and national databases as quickly as possible.
Police must accept reports immediately
One of the most significant changes under the new law is that officers must take a missing persons report as soon as someone tries to file one.
In the past, families occasionally reported being told that they needed to wait a certain period before authorities would open a case. That practice is now prohibited.
Police must now enter the missing person’s information into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) immediately after receiving a report. LEADS is a statewide database used by agencies across Illinois to track and share law enforcement information.
The law also requires every department in the state to establish formal procedures for investigating missing persons cases and following up on leads.
Officers cannot refuse a report because the missing individual is an adult or because foul play is not immediately suspected.
Additionally, anyone can file a report—not just family members.
Biometric data required after 60 days
The legislation also introduces new requirements if a missing person remains unaccounted for after two months.
If 60 days pass without locating the person, investigators must gather additional identifying information such as:
- Fingerprints
- Dental records
- Photographs
- Other biometric identifiers
These records must then be uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a federal database managed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
NamUs allows investigators across the country to compare cases and potentially match missing persons with unidentified remains.
Missing persons cases must remain open
Another major provision in the law prevents cases from being quietly closed.
Police agencies can no longer close a missing persons case simply because there are no active leads.
Instead, every case must remain open and under investigation until the missing person is located—either alive or deceased.
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Authorities also cannot close a case based on the age of the missing person or the age of their family members.
Supporters say the change ensures that cases are never abandoned and that advances in forensic technology can continue to be applied to older investigations.
Family DNA now part of investigations
The new law also expands the role of DNA evidence in missing persons investigations.
Within 90 days of a report being filed, police must collect voluntary DNA samples from family members and send them to an accredited laboratory.
Those DNA profiles are then uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database used by law enforcement.
However, the law includes strict rules on how these samples can be used.
Family DNA collected under the law can only be used to help identify or locate the missing person and must be destroyed once the case is resolved.
Cook County investigations helped inspire the law
The legislation was strongly supported by Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, along with State Sen. Michael Hastings and State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, who sponsored the bill in the Illinois legislature.
The proposal was partly inspired by the Cook County Sheriff’s Missing Persons Project, launched in 2021 to review long-unsolved cases involving missing women.
Investigators working on the project discovered that many older reports lacked complete information or were delayed due to outdated policies.
A decades-old case highlighted the problem
One case cited by investigators involved Reba C. Bailey, a Women’s Army Corps veteran who disappeared in the 1970s.
Bailey later died at a Chicago nursing home in 2015 but remained unidentified. Staff only knew her as “Seven Doe.”
In 2023, investigators finally identified her using a military fingerprint card from 1961.
Authorities said the identification could have happened years earlier if more thorough fingerprint searches had been conducted when she first went missing.
Hundreds of missing persons cases still open
When the new law took effect, about 476 missing persons cases remained open in Illinois, according to NamUs data.
Nationwide, more than 600,000 people are reported missing each year, although most cases are resolved quickly.
Supporters of the law believe that requiring immediate action and stronger data sharing will help solve cases faster and prevent others from remaining unresolved for decades.
Do you think laws like this could help solve more missing persons cases across the country? Share your thoughts respectfully in the comments.
