Missing Person Policy
If any member of the Wilkes community believes that a student is missing, the Department of Public Safety (WUPS) should be contacted immediately at 570-408-4999. WUPS will generate a missing person incident report, and initiate a joint investigation with Student Affairs and Residence Life.
In accordance with the Higher Education Act of 2008, and in addition to registering a general emergency contact, all resident students have the opportunity to confidentially register an individual to be contacted in the event the student is determined missing for more than 24 hours. If the student has identified such an individual, the University will notify that individual no later than 24 hours after the student is determined to be missing. A student who wishes to identify a confidential contact can do so at the beginning of each year. This contact information will be accessible only by authorized campus officials in the offices of Residence Life, Student Affairs, and Public Safety.
After investigating a missing person report, should WUPS determine that the student has been missing for 24 hours, the University will notify the Wilkes-Barre City Police and the student’s emergency contact no later than 24 hours after the student is determined to be missing. If the missing student is under the age of 18 and is not an emancipated individual, the University will notify the student’s parent or legal guardian immediately after WUPS has determined that the student has been missing for 24 hours.