SUVA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian Police has slammed speculation of missing people being abducted or linked to human trafficking as 22 cases of the 100 missing people reported this year alone remained pending.
Fiji Police Chief Operations Officer Maretino Qiolevu said Monday the possibility of human trafficking was not true as the majority of people that went missing were found safe and well after failing to communicate with their families.
The police are calling on parents and guardians to keep an open line of communication with their loved ones during the two weeks holiday that started Monday.
There's often a spike of missing persons' reports during the second term school break due to various social and sporting activities taking place in Fiji with the Hibiscus (Red Flower) Festival and the annual Methodist Church conference where people living in rural Fiji flock to the capital city of Suva.
The Police are concerned with missing persons' reports after receiving 100 reports from January to July of which 78 have been found after a period of one or two days either staying with relatives or friends.
Of these figures, 22 cases are pending of which two have drowned but the bodies of the victims are yet to be found.
Four are still missing at sea, leaving 16 cases pending which are being pursued by Fijian police.
Police confirmed that the majority of the cases involved were between the ages of 15-30 years of age where a disagreement with loved ones led them to run away from home.
Parents and guardians are therefore advised to communicate with each other as there have been cases where a child stays at a friends or relatives home without informing their parents.
Fijian police are encouraging the public to work together to avoid the unnecessary panic and stress caused when an individual is reported missing.
