In the run-up to my pitch, I have spent the last week reaching out to various missing persons charities and have sent out journo requests on Twitter. Through Twitter, I managed to get in contact with private investigator who specialises in missing persons cases. I spoke on the phone with him about his research and his opinions on the media coverage of a number of British cases. We spoke briefly about the media attention which cases such as Madeleine McCann's have received compared to other similar cases in the UK.
Unfortunately, despite making many phone calls this week, I have still received no responses from any missing persons charities so I am finding it quite difficult to source a case study who can be the focus of my documentary. It seems that even some of the biggest charities that help families in these situations, such as Missing Persons UK are having trouble finding a case which perfectly matches what I am looking for, or for ethical reasons they cannot give me their contact details. I have also attempted to contact the police this week but this is proving difficult as I am a student. I have now fortunately been put in contact with Tony Boughton who is a former officer who worked on Operation Trident, who I hope will be able to point me in the right direction of a family who I can speak to.
To prepare for my pitch I have printed out four photos of some well-known British missing children cases, such as Madeleine McCann, and four photos of some children who have recently gone missing but have had no media attention to show a contrast.