Responsible Unit: University Police
Effective: December 21, 2020
Revision History: None.
Review Date: January 2026
Section 1: Purpose and Policy
1.1 The purpose of this Policy is to set forth the missing student notification procedures for students who reside in on-campus student housing facilities (sometimes referred to in the Policy as an “on-campus student”).
1.2 As set forth below, WVU will identify where such reports can be made and require those reports to be immediately referred to the University Police Department. Further, missing student contact information will be used in accordance with the procedures and notifications will take place as set forth below.
Section 2: Missing Persons Procedure for Students Residing in On-Campus Housing Facilities
2.1 Where to Report Missing On-Campus Student. If anyone has reason to believe that a student who lives in on-campus student housing has been missing from campus, the University Police Department should be contacted at 304-293-3136 (twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week), 992 Elmer Prince Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506-6563.
2.2 Mandatory Referral. If anyone receives a report of a missing on-campus student, regardless of how long that on-campus student is believed to have been missing, that report must be referred immediately to the University Police Department at contacted 304-293-3136 (twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week), 992 Elmer Prince Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506-6563.
2.3 Contact Information. Each student residing on-campus housing, regardless of age, shall have the option to register a contact person or persons to be used strictly for missing persons purposes (referred to in this Policy as a “missing person contact”). This contact can be anyone and can be the same or different from the person identified as the student’s general emergency contact. For students living in the residence halls, students can register and update their missing person contact information by logging into My Housing/Housing Portal, which is located at the following site: https://myhousing.wvu.edu/student/312BE6F2/1/1/Home-MyHousing_at_West_Vi. For students living in University apartments, they are contacted and given the option to register one or more individuals to be a contacted strictly for missing persons purposes. On-campus students are offered this option each year, regardless of whether the student has identified a missing person contact in previous years. WVU shall notify the student’s missing person contact within twenty-four hours of the determination by the University Police Department that the student is missing.
2.3.1 Confidentiality of Missing Person Contact Information. The missing persons contact information will be registered confidentially and will be kept separate from the student’s emergency contact information (even if the student registered the same person for both). The missing persons contact information will be accessible only to authorized campus officials and may be disclosed only to law enforcement personnel and only for a missing person investigation or as otherwise required by law.
2.4 Actions Taken Following a Report. Once a report is made of a missing on-campus student, the University will take the following actions: 1) Contact Residence Life staff or, in the case of students living in University Apartments, the Property Manager, who will try to contact the student at the student’s residence. 2) If unsuccessful, the University will attempt to contact any room or suite mates of the student or other individuals that may know the whereabouts of the student. 3) Additionally, in order to locate the student, the University may try to ascertain whether the student is or has been on-campus recently through other available administrative means, such as determining whether the student has recently accessed any areas on-campus. If the investigation determines that the on-campus student has been missing for over twenty-four hours then, within the next twenty-four hours, the University will notify the individual identified as the student’s missing person contact.
2.4.1 Notifying Local Law Enforcement. WVU will also notify the local law enforcement agency within twenty-four hours of the determination that the student is missing, unless the local law enforcement agency was the entity that made the determination that the student is missing.
2.4.2 Minors. If a student is under 18 years of age and not emancipated, in addition to notifying local law enforcement where applicable per Section 2.4.1 of this Policy, WVU must and will notify a custodial parent or guardian within twenty-four hours of the determination that the student is missing, in addition to notifying any additional contact person designated by the student.
Section 3: Superseding Provisions
3.1 This Policy supersedes and replaces any other WVU policy or procedure which relates to the subject matter contained within this Rule.