Texas Center for the Missing, a nonprofit organization based in Houston, has taken up the search for the people who are still missing in Harvey’s aftermath.
Videos by Rare
After the storm hit, TCM staffers were out at shelters in Houston taking reports of missing people. At the George R. Brown Convention Center, one of the largest shelter locations during the storm, they received 138 reports of missing people related to the storm, according to the Houston Chronicle.
They got another 11 reports via their website, totaling 149. That’s around the same number of reports that come in to TCM over the course of a year.
RELATED: Documentary on Harvey’s aftermath helps us heal from this devastation
After working with the Red Cross, FEMA, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 125 of those people reported missing at George R. Brown were found safe.
Sadly, three people were found dead, and six are still missing. Seven from the 11 website reports also have not yet been found.
We've created a #HurricaneHarvey Reunification Resource Page to help gather resources for our community: https://t.co/XE6HgHNtRp
— TX Center 4 Missing (@TXCenter) September 5, 2017
Others have gone missing outside the scope of these lists. The fact that shelters didn’t have a comprehensive database of who checked into them during Harvey makes missing people harder to track.
During Katrina, most shelters had an online database of who was there, according to TCMÂ Director Beth Alberts.
Additionally, homelessness and lack of ability to contact loved ones can contribute to lack of knowledge of one’s whereabouts. If someone only has a landline at their home, and it goes down, and they can’t be reached any other way, it’s hard to know whether they’re safe.
TCM continues to work on all open cases. If you need help locating a missing person, you can file a report on their website, or call them at 713-599-0235.
RELATED: Two high schools are combining forces to make the most of their situation post-Harvey