According to the Nebraska State Patrol, there are around 750 people missing in Nebraska at any given time, each case rippling out into communities across the state as families and friends try to cope with the disappearance of a loved one.
While these cases remain front of mind for those who search for answers, the issue of missing persons comes to the forefront for residents around the state on Oct. 17, recognized since 2024 as Missing Persons Day in Nebraska.
Jannel Rap, whose sister Regina Bos has been one of the most high-profile missing person cases in Nebraska fter she disappeared from downtown Lincoln in 2000, lobbied for lawmakers to create the day of awareness as she continues to search for answers in her sister’s case.
“I think for the families of the missing that know about it, it probably makes them feel like Nebraska legislators care about their situation and about their loved one, and that the state cares about them,” Rap told Nebraska Public Media in the lead-up to this year’s Missing Persons Day. “And it’s really a lonely world when you have someone missing.”
Rap, a musician like her sister, founded the GINA Missing Persons FOUNDation, which sponsors Missing Persons Day and for over two decades has producedthe Squeaky Wheel Tour, an international event in which musicians perform shows and profile missing persons in a given area.
Pennsylvania-based singer/songwriter Gina Miller is currently touring with the Squeaky Wheel Tour along the East Coast through December.
GINA’s website features a Friday Five spotlight, highlighting five missing people on the front page for seven days to raise awareness about their cases. The Friday Five are chosen from the organization’s database, which includes active missing persons cases from around the United States and 13 other countries.
Locally, the Nebraska State Patrol maintains the Nebraska Missing Persons Clearinghouse website, which saw an average of 10,000 visits per month in 2024, according to KLKN.
“Missing Persons Clearinghouse probably gets visited the most when we have fresh information on the disappearance of someone or something,” Lt. Monty Lovelace told the station.
But for the loved ones of those who remain missing for years, the uncertainty doesn’t end after Missing Persons Day.
While past Missing Persons Days have featured events at the State Capitol in Lincoln, this year’s observance focuses on media coverage and raising awareness. Organizers encourage residents to visit the GINA database and the Nebraska Missing Persons Clearinghouse to learn more about unsolved cases in their area.
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