TRI-TAYLOR — The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office will host its first Missing Persons Day Saturday to provide assistance and resources to family and friends hoping to reconnect with missing loved ones.
The free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office’s Robert J. Stein Institute of Forensic Medicine, 2121 W. Harrison St.
Those with friends and family members who have been missing for more than a month can provide medical records, pictures and police reports of their missing loved one for analysis. DNA samples will be collected if at least two biological relatives of the missing person are present. Attendees can also report a family member missing for more than one month if they have not already done so. Emotional support will be available.
“Our goal is to be a centralized resource for those searching for loved ones,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar in a statement.
Missing Persons Day is being hosted by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office in partnership with National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and coroners from around the region.
The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it has identified seven missing persons as a result of a similar event that office has organized since 2014.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office updates its website about unidentified remains hoping members of the public can help identify the deceased.
More information on Missing Persons Days can be found on the event's page.
