Missing Kansas man made it to Georgia before police acted on his disappearance. Why? | Opinion

Police in Junction City, Kansas, got it wrong. Living outside city limits should not preclude a family from filing a missing persons report on a loved one.

For days, the family of Roberto Junior Familia, an inactive U.S. Army National Guard member based in Junction City, had not heard from him. Until Tuesday, police in the town about an hour west of Topeka had refused to take a missing person report, according to family members.

Why? Such reports must be filed in person, police told the family, according to Familia’s cousin, Madeline Familia. Members of the family live in Florida and New York.

Here’s a thought: In this digital age, why should members Roberto’s family have to plan a 21-hour drive from their home to file a missing person report? Shouldn’t a video conference call suffice?

Courts in Geary County, Kansas, and all over the country regularly use technology to conduct virtual legal proceedings. Why can’t Junction City detectives employ a similar method in extreme cases like the disappearance of a U.S. soldier?

It shouldn’t take an email from Madeline Familia to Junction City Mayor Pat Landes’ office to initiate a missing person report, which was finally filed Tuesday. Roberto, 24, suffers from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, according to the family.

Roberto hasn’t been heard from since March 21. Police were able to track his car’s license plates to Georgia, family members told us Tuesday. In Kentucky, Roberto was pulled over for a traffic violation, but fled to Georgia, Madeline Familia said.

Roberto had an emotional breakdown and the family was concerned for his safety. His mother, who was initially making her way to Kansas, had to readjust her route and drive to Georgia in search of Roberto.

The family is relieved that Roberto’s vehicle was tracked. But why did it take more than a week for Junction City police to act?

“The Junction City Police Department is aware of the situation with Mr. Familia,” read a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “We have entered him as a missing person into the national NCIC database. We attempted to do a check welfare at his last known location but we were unable to locate him.”

We asked Kansas Bureau of Investigation officials about the protocol to file a missing person cases, too. “The KBI potentially has two touchpoints with missing persons cases,” emailed a spokeswoman Tuesday afternoon. “We get involved in a missing persons case only when the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction requests our investigative assistance. These are usually in incidents were a criminal act is suspected, and when the agency has limited resources to conduct that criminal investigation. Second, we manage the Kansas Missing Persons Clearinghouse which also includes a public website of missing Kansans.”

Roberto’s medical condition should have qualified him as a critical missing person, family members said. The longer he is missing, the more danger he is in, they said.

“The Junction City Police Department refuses to take a missing person report for a missing loved one merely because we live miles away and can’t immediately come in person to file it,” Madeline Familia wrote in an email to Landes’ office.

Madeline Familia’s email continued: “His immediate family resides in Florida and New York and have tried to file a missing person report with Junction City Police Department over the phone but were denied as they live outside jurisdiction.”

She must have sounded the right alarm. Hours later, the report was filed and Roberto’s vehicle was tracked down south.

Junction City Police must do better. The agency should not need prodding from the mayor’s office to take a report on a missing serviceman.

This story was originally published March 28, 2023 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Missing Kansas man made it to Georgia before police acted on his disappearance. Why? | Opinion."