NYC's annual Missing Persons Day aims to find answers for loved ones

Saturday was New York City's Missing Persons Day, hosted by the city's Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).

The goal is to bring loved ones a step closer to answers.

What is Missing Persons Day?

Missing Persons Day has been held annually since 2014.

It's a chance for loved ones to go directly to forensic biologists at the OCME to seek answers to cold cases and track down individuals who have been missing for 60 days or more.

Social services and other resources are also available. Multi-lingual services are also available.

"This is an event for us to advertise this is what we do. Our job is to find your relative, but we need to talk with you," OCME Assistant Director Mark Desire said. "We've interviewed hundreds of family members and made over 100 identifications because of events like this."

Desire is one of the event's creators, sparked by the amount of missing persons cases he, with the agency, responded to after 9/11.

There have also been Missing Persons Day events in the Bronx and in Queens. The goal is to expand it to Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Resources available

New York City's OCME is the largest DNA lab of its kind in North America.

"This is one of the most profound things of my entire career," forensic scientist and biologist Jonathan Holly said.

"It's always nice to see the community that we're serving," forensic biologist Brittany Dosch said.

Forensic scientists collect DNA samples from family members to see if they can find a match in their extensive database from crime scenes, mass casualty events and more.

The resources aren't just for New Yorkers. Those from anywhere across the country can schedule an appointment at any time with the OCME, or just walk in, like Monet Gist, from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"I dropped everything I was doing to make sure that I was here today," she said. "This is the first time I was aware that this is even a thing."

Gist's father, Emanuel Gist, went missing just over five years ago.

"My dad never missed a graduation," Monet Gist said. "Dad, we love you and we hope to see you soon. And I'm never gonna stop finding you."