~HO DISAPPEARS- AND WHY<br > "The Problems of Victory are more<br > agreeable than the Problems of Defeat，<br > but no less difficult." _Winston<br > Churchill<br > WHO DISAPPEARS<br >~fhere are no reliable statistics on the number of people<br >~o disappear each year. This is obviously due to the<br >ture of the action， the goal of which is to remain<br >Ldetected， and also to the method used to collect such<br >~tistics.<br >All disappearance statistics are ultimately based on<br >~fficial" records of "missing persons." These records are<br >)mpletely unreliable because of the way they are<br >~mpiled. The two main sources of error are: (1) the large<br >amber of disappearees who are never officially reported<br > missin ersons; and (2) the sma!ler number of people<br >:ted as gPssing who are not. Let s start with the first<br >ategory and see why some people are never cataloged as<br >missing.<br > A person who disappears has to be formally reported<br >nissing before the police will take any official notice. Most<br >tisappearances are reported to the Missing Persons<br >3ureau (MPB) of the local police department. There are<br >-nany reasons for truly "missing" people to go unreported.<br > Fugitives from the law are almost never reported as<br >missing persons. Think about it for a minute: if you were a<br >c~c~se re~ative or friend of someone who skipped bail，<br >