West Midlands Police officers helped reunite thousands of families with their missing loved ones last year.

The specialist Missing Persons Investigation Team has dealt with more than 14,000 missing people reports throughout the last year and were involved in immediate investigations to find people of all ages - from young children to pensioners - and return them to worried families.

Missing people can be from all ages and backgrounds, often with vastly differing reasons for going missing.

Sometimes there are specific concerns around health issues they may have, or mental health issues leading to their disappearance.

West Midlands Police teams carry out a range of in depth enquiries to establish a missing person's movements so they can attempt to find them as soon as possible. Inspector Neil Western said:

"Our focus is always on doing everything we can to find someone safely and quickly.

"There can be various reasons why somebody goes missing and if they are particularly vulnerable - due to their age or health - we know time is of the essence.

"It's understandably a very stressful time for family and friends too, and our officers have to think quickly to establish the best line of enquiry to find their loved one promptly.

"We always have to consider what's best for an investigation - and the person who has gone missing - and we are always grateful for the public support we receive when we issue social media appeals.

"One of the best feelings you can get in this role is when you're able to reunite a missing person with their family."