Ohio House Passes Bill to Strengthen Missing Persons Investigations

State Representative Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta) announced the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 217, Andy Chapman's Act (formerly the F.I.N.D. Act). The legislation is aimed at improving efforts to locate missing persons and support their families.

Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Ritter and Rep. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus), the bill requires law enforcement agencies to enter information from a missing child report into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) if the child is not located within 30 days.

"When the tools exist to help families find answers for their missing loved ones, we should use them," said Representative Ritter. "HB 217 ensures when a person is reported missing in Ohio, the relevant information will be entered into the national NamUs system to coordinate with other states across the country."

The FIND Act is designed to better integrate Ohio's existing missing persons reporting systems with NamUs, a national centralized database for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases. Created in 2003, NamUs is currently utilized in multiple states and has contributed to the identification and recovery of hundreds of individuals.

By ensuring participation in this national system, House Bill 217 provides Ohio law enforcement with an additional tool to assist in resolving missing persons cases and enhances collaboration across state lines.

The legislation now advances to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.