Families may file a report in the database and then a database specialist will contact law enforcement. A specialist will also be on hand to provide general information to family.

A draft of the database, which should ease reporting for Native American families, should be ready for review in early May, she said.

Additionally, the Montana Department of Justice has been compiling an analysis of the state’s missing persons data from 2017, 2018 and 2019. An executive summary of that data should be completed by May, Schlichting said.

On Wednesday, there was 145 missing people in Montana, of 37 are Indigenous, according to DOJ data.

Missing persons reports have remained steady amid COVID-19, but there has been an uptick in reports of runaway youths, Jennifer Viets said on Wednesday. Viets is the Montana Missing Person’s Clearinghouse manager and task force member.

The increase in missing youths is likely due to the closure of schools, as kids try to run away from homes, Viets said. Similar spikes in runaway reports are not uncommon during the summer or holiday months.

Most of the runaways have been found within days of the initial reports, Viets said.

Adjusting to COVID-19