Istanbul police have reunited over 27,000 missing people with their families over the past 2.5 years, using an extensive search system that combines surveillance cameras, digital evidence and specially trained search dogs, according to data shared by the Missing Persons Bureau.
The Missing Persons Bureau under the Istanbul Police Department's Public Security Branch investigates every report with the goal of locating missing individuals as quickly as possible. Once a report is filed, officers immediately begin reconstructing the person's last known movements, examining where they were last seen and identifying possible routes they may have taken.
Investigators rely heavily on footage from the City Security Management System (KGYS) and surveillance cameras from businesses and residential areas. The collected digital evidence is analyzed to map possible movements before search teams are deployed in the field.
In cases involving large forests, open terrain or other difficult-to-access areas, specially trained tracking dogs assist officers in following scent trails. When investigators suspect a missing person may have died, cadaver dogs capable of detecting human remains are also brought into the operation.
