IN OUR VIEW | Pooling Resources: Texas legislation would help families of missing persons

Every year, thousands of Americans go missing.

Some are young, some are old. And some come from this part of the Ark-La-Tex.

There is a national database for missing persons. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, better known as NamUs, collects fingerprints, DNA and dental records to aid police in finding and identifying the missing - alive or dead.

NamUs is headquartered in Fort Worth. But surprisingly, Texas doesn't require law enforcement and medical examiners to share such information with NamUs, as several others states, including Arkansas, do.

That could change, though.

A Texas state representative has filed a bill to require information on missing persons be shared with NamUs. We think it's a good idea. A missing person could be anywhere. Authorities nationwide should have access to information that could help solve the disappearance.

When a loved one goes missing, the heartbreak goes on and on. Anything that can help find an answer, perhaps begin healing, should be a priority.

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