The First 48: Missing Persons premiered on A&E on June 2, 2011. When a person goes missing, every second counts. This series follows the Chicago Police Department's missing persons unit in the first 48 hours of their search for missing loved ones. Based in the heart of one of the country's most colorful law-enforcement cities, the Chicago Police missing persons unit gets more than 17,000 calls each year and is the one of the only major police departments in the country that responds to every missing persons call immediately. For the first time ever, the Chicago Police Department gives unrestricted access to ongoing investigations and allows cameras to follow the elite, passionate and dedicated investigators who handle all missing persons and child abduction cases. Each hour-long episode of "The First 48: Missing Persons" follows the specialized investigation of one or two high-stakes cases, from the moment the call comes in, as detectives search for the husbands, wives, sons and daughters who have disappeared. Just like a homicide on the original series "The First 48", if they don't find the missing person in the first 48 hours, their chances of finding them alive are cut in half.
