PHOENIX — “An elderly woman walked out of the house, with no water, no phone and she decided she was going to go hiking in the brutal summer heat. And she didn’t come home. Hours have passed and we get called, then we start to do our thing,” said

Detective Bonnie Burke with the Phoenix Police Department’s Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Unit.

Everyday people across all demographics are reported missing daily. In 2022, just under 550,000 people were reported missing, according to the National Crime Information Center. The Phoenix Police Department claims to receive about 7,000 of those reported missing cases annually.

Burke has 29 years of experience under her belt, four of them working within the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Unit.

“We’re not magic. We have no control over the elements,” Burke said, speaking about managing expectations from families to find their missing loved ones.

Regarding an incident in May 2022 involving an elderly woman who got lost hiking in South Mountain Park, Burke clarified the efforts of the unit.

“We’re out there hiking the mountain,” she said. “We’ve got drones, helicopters, we’ve got volunteers, we’ve got everything. We’re using every resource that is available to man to find your loved one.”

The unit uses every resource it has including statewide and national databases, collaboration with other departments such as the FBI, forensics, K9 units, and determined volunteers.

“We use search and rescue groups like Central Arizona Mountain Rescue. They’re all certified EMTs,” said Detective Dan Nonnemacher, one of Burke’s colleagues.

“I think the one forensic discipline that stands out and usually provides the most useful information is computer forensics and the capture of cell phone data,” said ASU Forensic Professor Brandon Nabozny. He explained much of the data that’s found can be accessed by law enforcement without the physical phone in possession, offering potential leads.

In the case of the missing elderly woman, her remains were found months later in November 2022.

“I don’t know what happened to her. The elements got to her. The body can only take so much. She got disoriented. Something happened to her, she ended up dying.” Burke acknowledged, “We found her, but it was too late.”

Burke shared a case that she will always remember because of the successful outcome involving two missing girls, aged 13 and 16. Burke was convinced they were gone, stating, “I would’ve bet you my retirement that they were gone. There’s no trace of them. Nothing. Not in school, not on any kind of social media.”

However, one night, the girls were found through the cooperation between the Phoenix and Tempe Police Departments.

“Oh my God they’re alive! And I would not have guessed. That was so rewarding,” Burke exclaimed.

Burke, with only 10 months left until her retirement, has an estimated 20 cases left. Another detective will soon fill her shoes to carry on the role in advocating for victims and locating Phoenix’s missing persons. To provide tips or any information regarding Missing Persons cases, call Crime Stop at 602-262-6151 or the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains office at 602-534-2121.

Stella Subasic, student journalist at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.