In accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, North Central Missouri College has the following policy and procedure in place for reporting and investigating a report of a missing student who resides in on-campus student housing:
If an NCMC employee has been notified that a student has not been seen on campus for more than 24 hours and community members do not know where the student may be or are concerned about their whereabouts, information must be sent immediately to the Dean of Student Services and Trenton Police Department. If this report is made after typical business hours, community members should notify the Trenton Police Department immediately and notify the Dean of Student Services at the earliest possible time.
Students will have the option to indicate a different emergency contact to be notified within 24 hours, if local law enforcement determines the person to be missing. Students can list the contact on their Emergency Information Sheet PDF, completed at check-in. The information: will be registered confidentially, will be accessible only to authorized campus officials, and may not be disclosed, except to a law enforcement personnel in furtherance of a missing person investigation.
If the student is determined to be missing and is 18 or older, the College will notify the appropriate law enforcement agency within 24 hours (if the law enforcement agency did not make the determination that the student is missing). If the student is determined by the local law enforcement agency to be missing, the institution will notify within 24 hours the contact personal identified by the student. At this time, the College may also begin contacting close acquaintances of the missing student to assist with the investigative process.
If the student is determined to be missing, is under the age of 18, and is not emancipated, their custodial parent or guardian will be contacted immediately by the College, in addition to any additional contact person designated by the student. After the permanent legal guardian and additional contact have been notified, the College will cooperate with the guardian, designated contact and the local authorities to pursue the appropriate course of action.
If community members are concerned about the student’s whereabouts and feels that they may be in danger, they should immediately contact the Trenton Police Department, or 911 if there is immediate, present danger.
Depending on the circumstances regarding the student’s absence or status, the College reserves the right to notify parents and/or permanent legal guardian regarding the report of the missing student at any time, regardless of their age.