The Congress has launched this Wednesday, within the framework of the Interior Commission, the subcommittee responsible for drafting a basic legal statute for missing persons without apparent cause within a period of six months. Its creation was endorsed this month by the Plenary of the Lower House with the support of all groups, except for Vox, which opted for abstention.
In this constitutive session, the subcommittee has decided to hold its first working meeting on October 13. That day it will address the approval of its work plan and analyze an initial proposal of witnesses submitted by each parliamentary group, as explained to Europa Press by sources from the Chamber.
In this way, the body will be able to receive contributions from associations and specialized entities from the Third Social Sector, families of missing persons, Security Forces and Bodies, the National Center for Missing Persons (CNDES), various public administrations, the General Council of the Judiciary, the Attorney General's Office, and professionals from Law and Psychology.
Furthermore, it has been agreed that in each session of the subcommittee at least two or three witnesses will intervene. The body is composed of 15 members: three representatives from each of the two main parties (PP and PSOE), two from the medium-sized parties (Vox and Sumar), and one deputy from each of the remaining groups (ERC, Junts, Bildu, PNV, and Mixto). From Sumar, deputies Enrique Santiago and Nahuel González, from IU, one of the forces that promoted the initiative, will participate.
The creation of this parliamentary body marks the start of work to review the regulatory framework that currently affects missing persons in Spain and to identify the legal changes deemed appropriate.
After this formal procedure, the subcommittee has a maximum of six months to draft a report with its conclusions, although the deadline may be extended if authorized by the Plenary. Once completed, the text must be submitted to a vote in the Interior Commission. Among its objectives is also to resume previous initiatives and proposals on this issue, such as the conclusions of the special commission created in the Senate in 2013 and a bill registered in 2021.
Legal and administrative consequences of disappearances
The initiative is based on the impact that a disappearance can cause beyond the search for the person, generating psychological, legal, administrative, social, and economic problems for their relatives and close individuals.
Among the aspects that are affected in these cases are the management of assets and properties, contracts, tax obligations, bank accounts, businesses, benefits or family responsibilities, as well as the figures already provided for in the legislation, such as the legal declaration of absence and, after the time set by law, the declaration of death.
More than 25,000 reports in 2025
According to the Annual Report on Missing Persons from the CNDES, during 2025, 25,086 reports of disappearance related to 16,024 people were registered in Spain, as the same person can be involved in several episodes.
90.7% of the reports filed in that year had been clarified by the end of the year, and more than 54% were resolved in the first three days. In addition, 61.4% of the cases corresponded to minors and 38.6% to adults.
As of December 31, 2025, 6,874 accumulated reports from different years remained active, of which 2,133 had been filed during 2025. According to CNDES data, 98.9% of the resolved disappearances concluded with the location of the person alive.
The establishment of the subcommittee was promoted by the Socialist Parliamentary Group, and the Congress Board gave the green light to its processing on April 28. Subsequently, the Interior Commission supported its creation before elevating it to the Plenary, which approved it by a large majority on September 10.