KPD tells oversight committee it logged 284 missing-youth reports in 2025, cites 96% clearance rate

The Knoxville Police Department told the Police Advisory and Review Committee that it received 284 missing-youth reports in calendar year 2025 and estimated roughly 250 unique children after accounting for repeat runaways. Deputy Chief Joe McHale and Sergeant James Lochmiller described how the department investigates these cases and coordinates with state and federal partners.

KPD said 10 cases were active and one pending as of Jan. 2, 2026, and that the department's calculated closure rate for 2025 was 96 percent. "Our mission is to ensure that every parent in the city of Knoxville has the full weight of the Knoxville Police Department behind them when they have a missing child or a runaway child," Deputy Chief Joe McHale said.

Lochmiller, who leads the Special Crimes Unit, outlined the unit's responsibilities, including child abuse, elder abuse, sex-offender registry work, human trafficking and missing-persons investigations. He said the unit assigns detectives — naming Ethan Random as the missing-person detective and Todd Harden as the elder-abuse lead — and maintains victim advocates who attempt contact multiple times with victims of domestic violence or related offenses.

On Amber Alerts, Lochmiller clarified the local role: an Amber Alert requires evidence of an abduction under Tennessee Bureau of Investigation criteria. "In order for an Amber Alert to be issued, there has to be an abduction," he said, adding that KPD issues endangered-child alerts under broader criteria and that the TBI controls Amber Alert activation.

Committee members pressed KPD on demographic tracking; Lochmiller said federal reporting categories and data collection rules limit how some race/ethnicity data are recorded, but that monthly demographic breakdowns were included in the department's slides. Park staff said the slide deck would be posted to PARK's website and made available to the public.

The committee did not vote on policy changes related to missing-persons investigations during the meeting; members asked for the department's presentation to be posted and indicated they may follow up with additional questions.