Medical Examiner’s Office Hosts First-Ever Missing Persons Day in Cook County

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office is hosting the inaugural Cook County Missing Persons Day to connect those with long-term missing loved ones with resources and experts.

Those with missing friends and family missing more than one month will be able to submit DNA samples, medical records, pictures and other records to aid in the search. Emotional support services will also be available to families. 

“Our goal is to be a centralized resource for those searching for loved ones,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar. 

Missing Persons Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 20th at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office’s Robert J. Stein Institute of Forensic Medicine, 2121 West Harrison St., Chicago.

Medical examiners and coroners in various jurisdictions have held similar events. The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it has identified seven missing persons in the New York metropolitan area since first hosting the event in 2014.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office is hosting its Missing Persons Day in partnership with National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and coroners from throughout the region. 

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office maintains updated information about unidentified remains on its website with the goal of identifying the deceased with information obtained from the public.