24-year-old disappeared from KC on April 3. Police didn’t alert public until today
.jpeg "Del Fig, 24, was last seen April 3 in Kansas City. Friends and family are asking for help locating them.")
Friends and family of a 24-year-old who has been missing for over two weeks are asking for the public’s help to find them after their truck was located on the side of Interstate 70 in Utah.
Del Fig suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder and was last seen on the night of April 2 in their East Side Kansas City home, according to Greta Webb, a friend.
The next day, April 3, they were gone and their wallet and truck, which Webb says Fig was afraid to drive, were also missing from the home, Webb said. Everything else Fig owned, including their beloved pet bird, was left behind.
Fig’s roommates have been frustrated in their attempts to get help from the Kansas City Police Department, Webb said.
“I’ve been ripping my hair out worried about this,” Webb said Thursday. “Its been really stressful.”
“Nobody took this seriously in the first week, especially not police.”
Webb said Fig’s three roommates attempted to file a missing persons report with Kansas City police on April 8 and again on April 10, but the report was not accepted.
Del Fig’s grandmother tried to file a follow-up report on April 14, Webb said, and she also did not have her report accepted.
Webb went with the roommates on April 18 to file a report with police after learning that Fig’s truck had been abandoned on the side of Interstate 70 about 20 miles away from Salina, Utah.
On Thursday, about four hours after The Star began asking police questions about Fig’s case, the department released a flier to media and other community members announcing the 24-year-old was missing. That flier misgendered Fig, who identifies as nonbinary, and includes a former name Fig no longer uses. Police later notified media outlets of Fig’s pronouns.
Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman, provided a missing person’s report dated April 8, the same day Fig’s roommates reported the 24-year-old missing.
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But it was 10 days later that police entered Fig’s information into a law enforcement database of missing persons.
When asked why the flier was released weeks after Fig was reported missing, Becchina said the “circumstances of the investigation have changed that dictated more information being put out.”
He said the case had been evaluated per police protocols.
Becchina said he did not understand why Fig’s friends and family thought their initial missing person’s report was not accepted.
Del Fig missing
Fig has left home unexpectedly once before, in March, but in that case they stayed in contact with friends and family, Webb said.
It is also unlike Fig to leave their bird behind without someone to care for it.
“Bipolar can be extremely debilitating, which is another reason I’m so worried,” Webb said. Fig’s friends are not aware of any reason why they would be in Utah.
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According to a missing person’s poster developed by the friends, Fig was last seen wearing a black and white sweater with shorts.
They stand five feet tall, weigh 130 pounds and have hazel eyes. Their hair is brown with streaks of turquoise.
Anyone with more information about Fig’s location can contact the Kansas City police missing person’s unit at 816-234-5043.
KCPD missing persons protocols
The police department revived its missing person’s unit Sunday after complaints from community members who were concerned police were not properly investigating missing persons cases.
Police announced the unit will use a publicly accessible national database known as NamUS to track missing people. They will also maintain a public list of active cases, which includes the demographics of people reported missing, on the Kansas City police website and release reports on which cases are being closed or left unsolved.
The department also plans on working with nonprofits such as Missouri Missing.
Community members and advocates had called for these changes following concerns that the cases of missing Black or brown people were not being investigated properly.
Maj. Leslie Foreman, commander of the violent crimes division, will oversee the squad, with seven detectives and one sergeant supervisor. Detectives will work weekends on a rotating basis and the unit will be staffed throughout the day and evening.
“We are going to do better but please be patient with us,” Foreman said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Since Sept. 1, the police department had taken 186 reports of missing adults. Nine of those cases remain unsolved. Roughly 509 juveniles have been reported missing with 53 of those cases remaining unsolved, according to a prior report by The Star.
The Star’s Natalie Wallington contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 5:26 PM.
