National database offers law enforcement, families new way to connect in the search for missing people
On the day North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared Missing Person's Awareness Day, the State Bureau of Investigation teamed up with RTI International to host an event to offer new tools for families of the missing.
One family drove three hours from Charlotte to be there.
Jordan Smith was last seen in Concord in April 2021. Since that time, her family has been looking for answers.
"She was at my house on April the 6th of 2021 which was the week of Easter," her mother, Tracie Barbee, said.
Barbee knew something was up when Smith went quiet online.
"She suffered from addiction, so when I wouldn't hear from her, I would reach out, and she would always respond back."
At first, Barbee felt alone in her search for Smith.
"It took us a very long time for anyone to even take me seriously, and we lost a lot of very valuable time during that process," she said.
Smith's family turned her social media presence into one of the ways they chase down leads in the search.
"I want people to hear my voice as a mother, and I want to bring my chid home whatever that takes," Barbee said.
In Morrisville Friday, she was in the crowd to hear about the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database, another tool for families to connect with law enforcement to bring their loved ones home.
Donia Slack of RTI explained, "It's a forward-facing, public-facing database where they are able to have their loved ones case be presented across the country to provide DNA samples that's coordinated through law enforcement so that they can be matched through the FBI's database."
Families like Barbee's provide dental and medical records and DNA samples to help investigators link their missing members to human remains and other evidence.
"Any information that they're able to put into these public databases helps resolve cases. You never know when a medical examiner from another state might be able to make a link in another case," Slack said.
Smith's case is now in NamUs.
"Now I know if there's any chance that she's out there and found they'll have something to base that off of.
"Now I know if there's any chance that she's out there and found, they'll have something to base that off of," Barbee said.
"We will bring her home. whatever that means, it may not be exactly how I want it to happen, but I will make it happen one way or the other."
In North Carolina this year, more than 10,000 people have been reported missing. Seven hundred of those cases remain active.
