Finding missing persons is most rewarding experience

Bak Han-chul

By Lee Kyung-min

For police officer Bak Han-chul, nothing is more rewarding than watching a person, whom he located after receiving a missing report, reunite with his or her family.

“I genuinely feel happy for the family that I helped come together, thanking me for saving them from the thought that the person who went missing was dead,” said Bak at the Incheon Bupyeong Police Station.

Bak, who became a police officer in 2005 and started at the missing persons department in July 2014, said his new line of work is emotionally more rewarding than his earlier mission including crackdowns and arrests.

“Catching a bad guy is of course the duty of a police officer, but I feel I become more of a help to people who are desperately looking for their loved ones,” he said.

Out of some 800 missing persons reported annually to the Incheon Bupyeong Police Station, the most memorable incident was when he recently helped a dementia patient, 92, who was staying in a state-run mental hospital, find her son, 71.

The two met 19 years after she left home in 1996. The son, who became blind during their period of separation, had thought his mother was dead and has since held memorial services every year on the holidays and on her birthday.

“I heard that the woman had no family. I confirmed her identity based on her fingerprints, and I found her son soon after that,” he said.

“Initially, I was worried that they might not recognize each other, given that the son became blind and his mother was suffering from a psychiatric condition, because all that I had to confirm their identities were fingerprints, but as the two looked so much alike, I was relieved,” he added.

Bak said help from the public is crucial in locating missing persons, especially from those who set up surveillance videos.

“Finding the elderly suffering from dementia or children who went missing is virtually impossible without tracking recorded footage. When I ask for cooperation, however, many people ask for a search warrant or some form of compensation such as cash or valuables. I wish they could empathize with the families in despair,” he said.

The father of two children added that during the summer season, parents should particularly beware of the possibility of their children getting lost while on family outings at amusement parks or on countryside travel.

“Have them wear necklaces or bracelets with their names and addresses and parents’ cell phone numbers on them, and file a report immediately after they go missing to minimize the response time,” he said.