The search for answers: Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie, Part 4

Editor’s Note: As we close out our four-part series on the Gabrielle Petito and Brian Laundrie series, ABC7 is urging the community to take action. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - People go missing every day and that is something detectives say will never change. What has changed are the tools law enforcement have at their disposal. Social media and advancements in technology play a powerful role these days.

The Suncoast is home to more than 800,000 residents. For perspective, the national database that tracks missing people reports some 600,000 individuals go missing each year nationwide. Their loves ones hold on to hope even as time passes.

As years go by, more and more cases of people who’ve vanished slowly run dry.

“Unfortunately, sometimes especially with adults ... they disappear — there’s no leads,” said Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler tells ABC7.

As more time goes by, the less likely it is that their cases will be solved.

Detectives on the Suncoast say many of their cases locally don’t get to that level. “The overwhelming majority of them, we’re able to find them or identify them and get them home within days or a couple of weeks, said Tyler.

Social media is also playing a major role in solving missing person cases by amplifying the investigation. In the past, faces were plastered on milk cartons and bulletin boards.

Capt. Joe Giasone of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says without social media, some of their cases may have never been figured out.

“We have a lot of cases like that where if it wasn’t for social media, it would never be solved,” Giasone says.

There are so many faces of people who have never been found. Some cases track back to the 1990s and others are more recent.

Officers say they never give up and they hope a break in the case will always come. The media also has an active role to play in missing person cases.