In the first three months of a person being reported missing to police, a flurry of action is happening behind closed doors.
Physical identifiers and possible medical conditions are being noted down, bank accounts scanned, social media accounts examined, interviews conducted.
Police aren't just trying to find out where that person might be, but also who they are, Detective Acting Inspector Paul Reynolds said.
"We don't know this person a lot of the time and we're trying to build up the best picture that we can about them to better inform what we do next."
Inspector Reynolds is the acting officer in charge of the Intelligence portfolio, under which the Missing Persons team operates.
The first thing he wants to get across is that people do not have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing.
"That's not the case at all, you could report a person as missing instantly, or whenever."
Most people are located fairly quickly, but in the ACT, those missing longer than three months are considered long-term cases,
There are 15 long-term missing people in the ACT, with the police seeking public assistance for nine of them this National Missing Persons Week.
The annual week serves to remind the public of those who have disappeared, with police urging anyone, with any scrap of information to come forward.
"For the people that have some knowledge of these missing persons cases, it's difficult for them to contextualise how important their information is to the whole investigation," Inspector Reynolds said.
"You might say they were in a blue car, not a white car. Someone says that person caught a cab from outside the nightclub, [another says] this person has actually had a walk down to the corner and caught a cab."
"So you might think it's a small piece of information, to us it might be the thing we've been looking for."
Long-term missing persons cases are handed over to crime investigators, Leading Senior Constable Colleen McKillop of the Missing Persons team said.
"We have oversight over all the missing persons reports that come in, and we can assist investigators with interstate inquiries, bank checks, all sorts of things."
"Depending on the circumstances, there'll be a lot of interaction with witnesses, trying to gather any physical evidence that might be available."
The nine people police are seeking public information about went missing between 48 and five years ago.
For families and friends of long-term missing persons, some of whom have spent decades without answers, the wait is excruciating.
Among the missing Canberrans is Elizabeth Herfort, who disappeared 42 years ago on Friday, June 13, 1980.
Elizabeth was last seen at the Australian National University Bar in Acton, while a person fitting her description was spotted hitch-hiking on the southbound carriageway leading to Commonwealth Avenue between 9pm and 9.45pm that night.
Police believe this person was given a lift in a motor vehicle along Commonwealth Avenue to the intersection of Coronation Drive in Canberra.
Senior Constable McKillop said it was cases like these which stayed with her.
"I'm very mindful of the few cases that we have of just young women going about their daily life that have literally vanished with no trace," she said.
"And when you think about the possibility of that being anybody's daughter or anybody's sister, I think that really hits home."
For Inspector Reynolds, one particular story of a young man who was reported missing has always stayed with him.
Police threw resources into the case quickly but the young man died before they could locate him.
"I then had to go and give that message to the family which was incredibly hard ... I couldn't for one second imagine what they went through and what they continue to go through as a family," he said.
Inspector Reynolds said police were always trying to get better at searching for missing people, to prevent tragedies and ease pain for affected families and friends.
- For support contact Lifeline: 13 11 14.
- If you have information contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
- To report someone missing contact ACT Policing on 131 444.
