AI-powered tools can track down missing people faster and with greater accuracy, experts say

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Cybersecurity researchers are advocating the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools to help track down missing persons more quickly and efficiently.

While conventional investigations rely heavily on human intelligence, witness statements, technical evidence and camera footage, cyber forensics experts say artificial intelligence can greatly improve the speed and accuracy of investigations, especially when time is of the essence.

Thousands of people, including women and children, go missing across the country every year. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 4,24,235 reported missing persons — including 2,64,934 women and 13 transgender persons — remain unaccounted for. In Tamil Nadu alone, 5,524 missing persons have not yet been found.

G. Deepak Raj Rao, a professor at the National Forensic Sciences University, Chennai, said AI systems can process information at a scale and speed that humans cannot match. Police investigations were often constrained by limited manpower, making it impractical for investigators to simultaneously monitor video from multiple surveillance cameras.However, AI systems were able to analyze thousands of hours of CCTV footage in real time, detect movement patterns, and generate alerts when a missing person’s identity matched.

“The longer it takes to find a missing person, the greater the challenges. Every minute counts when it comes to the person’s safety and movement. In the case of a missing child, the first 24 to 48 hours are critical. In remote or under-resourced areas where police personnel are overstretched, AI-assisted tools can produce results in minutes, while conventional methods can take days,” he said.

Face recognition

Modern facial recognition systems can identify individuals in CCTV networks installed in public places such as shopping malls, bus terminals, railway stations and airports. AI can also detect and tag even partial images of missing persons that appear in social media posts, news or other publicly available content for further investigation.

Dr. Deepak said that in most cases of missing persons, especially young people, there are often valuable digital clues. Artificial intelligence can search social media platforms for last known activity, location tags and accounts associated with a missing person. It can also analyze social media history to identify signs of emotional distress and map networks of relationships to help investigators identify persons of interest.

Senthil Kumar Ilango, a researcher studying the applications of artificial intelligence in cyber security and investigations, said police agencies around the world are challenged to cover large areas with limited manpower. in the search for missing persons. AI tools could analyze terrain, weather conditions, a person’s last known location and behavioral patterns to prioritize search areas and provide investigators with clues. He said one of the main problems is the absence of a common platform for integrating information from multiple systems.

“For example, a person admitted to a hospital may be an individual wanted by the police in a neighboring district or state. But there is no mechanism to connect the dots. Integration platforms using artificial intelligence could automatically match unidentified persons with missing person records across jurisdictions,” said Mr. Senthil Kumar.

Southern Railway officials said facial recognition cameras and AI-assisted tracking tools are expected to be deployed at railway stations to help identify missing persons and also track those with criminal antecedents.

Several other cybercrime researchers were also of the opinion that AI-powered tools could significantly speed up the investigation of missing cases. Many developed countries were already deploying AI to track people reported missing, and geographic boundaries were not a limitation.

Published – 06 Jul 2026 0:24 IST