Tillis, Padilla Applaud Senate Judiciary Committee Passage of the TRACE Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) applauded the passage of theTRACE Actout of the Senate Judiciary Committee. TheTRACE Actis a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would require the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to include an additional category to the existing National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems (NamUs) database so the public and law enforcement partners can denote cases where the person went missing or was identified on federal land or territorial waters of the United States —including by providing specific location details.
The bill also requires DOJ to submit an annual report to Congress on the number of cases of persons missing or suspected of going missing on public lands or territorial waters of the United States from the previous year. With this new feature, family and friends of people who have gone missing on public lands could more easily find and include this information in NamUs, while law enforcement agencies can simultaneously work to improve the national records of individuals missing on public lands.
“Every year, people go missing on public lands without being recorded in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,”said Senator Tillis.“This oversight is impeding law enforcement from keeping track of those who go missing to help search and rescue efforts. I applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation so these cases can be added to the database and potentially save hundreds of lives in the future, and I look forward to supporting this legislation on the Senate floor.”
“Thousands of people go missing on public lands every year in the United States, but without an effective tracking system, law enforcement faces significant challenges in finding them,”said Senator Padilla.“Public lands should be safe for everyone. That’s why I will keep working with Senator Tillis and my colleagues across the aisle to pass this bipartisan legislation to improve data accuracy and accessibility, give law enforcement better tools to resolve cases, and bring peace of mind to affected families.”
Background:
According to a NamUs report, over 600,000 people go missing in the United States annually. While the majority of these cases are resolved, tens of thousands of people remain missing every year. There are approximately 640 million acres of federal land which include national parks, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management lands.
Estimates suggest that at least 1,600 people have gone missing on public lands, though the number is likely much higher, as isolated or rugged terrain on public lands can make it especially difficult to find or identify people who go missing. Despite this, there is no functional system to report people who have gone missing on public lands. Having accurate data on how many people go missing on our public lands every year is crucial to aid search and rescue efforts and resolve cases.
NamUs is the main system used by law enforcement, families and friends of missing persons, medical examiners, and coroners to report unidentified remains and missing persons, and is also used by the public.
TheTRACE Actis endorsed by the Public Lands Solution, Jewish Women's Institute, Major County Sheriffs Association, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), NDAA, Raven, National Association to End Sexual Violence, and the Outdoor Industry Association.
Full text of the bill is availableHERE.

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