Integrated Data Management System: iDMS

The iDMS is a specialized software solution built by ICMP for managing large scale missing persons programs. The iDMS has a set of powerful integrated applications that supports the process of storing, viewing and analyzing very large amounts of data on missing persons, investigations, and identifications.  Included in the iDMS database are over 150,000 missing persons, as well as the profiles of living relatives. The iDMS enables the management of large amounts of data relevant to missing persons, including:

• A registry of missing persons and associated information;
• Information and DNA samples from families of the missing;
• Data on forensic archaeology operations and recovery of human remains and evidence;
• Anthropological examination and case inventory;
• DNA laboratory processes;
• DNA Profile Databases; and
• DNA Matching.

ICMP uses iDMS for its own work, where it assists with missing persons cases around the world. Furthermore, ICMP shares this state-of-the-art database technology with government authorities and others to assist them in addressing missing persons cases.  In so doing, ICMP customizes the database to meet the specific needs of a given country or event and provides instruction and training to designated experts in its use the iDMS system, and its associated Online Inquiry Center  have been designed with data security as the highest priority.  There is a high degree of control over access to sensitive information, such as DNA and family data.  Each user has access only to authorized portions of the database, and sensitive data is stored and analyzed in an anonymous, coded form at many stages of the process.

Online Inquiry Center

ICMP has developed an online platform for the iDMS, called the Online Inquiry Center, which plays an important role in providing information on missing persons investigations both to the public and to partner organizations. The Online Inquiry Center is an interactive missing persons search tool. It is an open-access function that allows families and other interested parties to obtain and provide information as well as to track missing persons cases through three different search engines: the Missing Persons Inquiry, the Post-mortem Sample Inquiry and the Excavation Site Inquiry.

Report a missing person

If you want to report a missing person, please click here. You will be asked to provide basic information about the missing person, the circumstance of disappearance, and whether you agree to share this information with other relevant international and national agencies. Please see ICMP’s policy on personal data processing and protection for detailed information on how personal data is processed and protected by ICMP.

If you want to inquire about  missing persons case click here. You will be asked to enter the name of the missing person. Since different people may have identical or similar names, you will be asked to include additional names (for example, father or mother’s name or the missing person’s nickname). This will make the search more specific. If your inquiry fails to produce a result, you should consider the possibility that the person has been reported under a different name or that his or her name has been spelled differently.

If you wish to provide additional information regarding a missing person, please click here. Additional information may help in the search for persons already reported to ICMP as missing. Basic information about the missing person – name, physical description and so on – may help to locate and identify that person. In addition, where ICMP has an on-going technical assistance program that includes using DNA to identify missing persons, contact details of family members of the missing will be invaluable in order to request reference samples for DNA identification.

If you already reported a missing person through the OIC and you have your verification code, please click here if you wish to contact ICMP.

If you wish to report more than one missing person, (for example, a number of people who have gone missing as a result of a specific incident), please click here or e-mail us at icmp@icmp.int

If a search fails to produce a result, you may wish to try using an alternate spelling or form of the person’s name, as individuals are sometimes identified by forenames, middle names, family names and even nicknames and may originally have been entered on this database under one of these.

Missing Persons Inquiry

Missing Persons Inquiry allows families to:

• Register missing persons and donor contact information online;
• Find information on the status of the case; and
• Monitor the progress of their missing family member’s case.

This feature is particularly valuable in allowing families of the missing who do not reside in a country where ICMP has a program to participate in the collection of reference samples. To Access Missing Persons Inquiry, click here.

Post-mortem Sample Inquiry:

• Allows government authorities and forensic professionals who have submitted post-mortem samples to the ICMP for DNA testing to track their cases.

To access Post-mortem Inquiry, click here.

Excavation Site Inquiry: 

• Allows users to search for general information regarding the status of DNA testing for specific excavation or recovery sites.

To access Excavation Site Inquiry, click here.