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Handbook of Missing Persons pp 163–175Cite as

Ethical Challenges in Missing Persons Investigations

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Abstract

Ethical challenges arise in the investigations of missing persons cases from the prioritization of casework to the management of privacy of individual families. Cultural differences may affect how an investigation should be handled, and secrets may be revealed without careful navigation of the information supplied and discovered during an investigation. Out of respect for a family missing their loved one, investigators attempt to maintain open communication, but must limit information that would compromise the investigation. Modern surveillance tools may aid future missing persons investigations but social norms and legal constraints should dictate whether and how to implement such tools to the benefit of society.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke University, 2021 Chapel Hill Road, Durham, NC, 27707, USA

    Joyce Kim

  2. Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Claremont Bridge, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Jackie Leach Scully Ph.D.

  3. Duke Science and Society, Duke University, 304 Research Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Sara Huston Katsanis M.S.

Authors
  1. Joyce Kim
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  2. Jackie Leach Scully Ph.D.
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  3. Sara Huston Katsanis M.S.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Huston Katsanis M.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nursing and Health Sciences, California State University, East Bay, San Francisco, California, USA

    Stephen J. Morewitz

  2. Forensic Archaeology and Genocide, Investigation, Staffordshire University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom

    Caroline Sturdy Colls

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Kim, J., Scully, J.L., Katsanis, S.H. (2016). Ethical Challenges in Missing Persons Investigations. In: Morewitz, S., Sturdy Colls, C. (eds) Handbook of Missing Persons. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40199-7_12

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