Leah Croucher was 19 years old when she went missing in 2019 from her town in Milton Keynes, England. Now families like hers and authorities are using a new tool to help look for missing persons: three-dimensional posters.
Families and authorities are using a new tool to help look for missing persons: three-dimensional posters.
The 3D images are designed to make the faces they depict more memorable.
One such poster includes the image of Leah Croucher, who was 19 years old when she went missing in 2019 from her town in Milton Keynes, England.
“We’re scanning faces just in case it’s Leah, constantly looking just for any clue,” her parents told the BBC. “I look at people and just think, are you the person who took Leah?”
Leah’s face is part of a new campaign in England. It shows the teen moving and blinking.
The hope is that these more detailed images may help trigger someone’s memory and make those who are missing seem more “real.”
“This technology now that enables us to make those images much more clear, higher resolution; they can even be made to move so they give that sense of a real human being behind the story,” behavioral scientist Steve Martin said.
These new, simpler, cleaner images are a break from traditional missing posters that some say bombard the viewer with too much information.
There are a couple other changes as well. “Missing” is replaced with the words “Help Find.” It’s a call to action.
And the posters have QR codes, to allow for easier sharing on social media.
It’s one more thing the families of missing persons, such as Leah, hope will help to bring their loved ones home.
