‘You are going to drop the ball on this …’: using siblings’ stories to inform better interprofessional practice when someone goes missing

Abstract

This paper focuses on a part of a larger piece of exploratory, qualitative research. A brief literature review precedes verbatim quotations from accounts of siblings’ experiences of police. The accounts were gained by in‐depth interviews with adult siblings of nine long‐term missing people. Participant stories reveal the quality of the investigation and the manner of service as influencing their emotional well‐being in the short and longer term. Findings cannot be extrapolated but indicate potential areas for future research. The need for support from human services workers to complement the role of police is recognised as is the important role of non‐government support and advocacy services.

Keywords:

• missing people
• missing
• interprofessional collaboration
• advocacy
• siblings
• loss and grief

Acknowledgments

The author appreciates the support and cooperation of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) in carrying out this research. This support does not suggest that the QPS endorses the research or its findings and responsibility for any errors of omission or commission rest solely with the researcher. The author also thanks Dr Jeni Warburton and Associate Professor Cheryl Tilse, University of Queensland for their support during the completion of her doctoral thesis. Most importantly, sincere appreciation to the research participants who so candidly and generously gave accounts of their experiences, many of whom continue to deal with the ‘unending not knowing’ of missingness.