The first week of August marks the start of the annual National Missing Persons Week

One of the top private detectives in Australia has spoken out on why individuals will do anything to avoid being found out by their loved ones.

Many families spend years looking for answers, even though the great majority of people who go missing and are reported to police across the country are found safe and sound.

Private investigative company National Inquiry Agency specializes in finding those who have vanished and doing location searches.

Although the Sydney agency also performs background checks, process serving, and investigations for corporate clients and debt collectors, director Amy Elliott’s passion is for missing person cases.

The private investigator has looked into several situations where people have disappeared in an effort to escape debt, an abusive relationship, or merely to start a new life somewhere else.

National Inquiry Agency founder and director Amy Elliott (pictured) is a private investigator who specialises in tracking down missing persons

‘As soon as I find out there are financial problems with the person who has gone missing, I can usually pinpoint the reason or purpose for their disappearance,’ the qualified solicitor told 9 Honey.

‘Most of the time, the person retreats to where they know and somewhere they can hide. They’ll go to their grassroots.’

Ms. Elliott’s first step in a new case is to look into the missing person’s social media accounts before gathering the necessary information to identify them.

Although the company’s principal goal is to provide customers peace of mind, this also means that Ms. Elliott and her staff frequently have to deliver unpleasant news.

She recalls finding a woman who changed every aspect of herself, such as her name, phone number, and lifestyle, before disappearing and cutting off all contact with family and friends.

‘She just wanted to cut ties completely. And her family just wanted to make sure that she was alive,’ Ms. Elliott recalled.

Amy Elliott (pictured) often has to break the heartbreaking news to families that the loved ones she tracks down don't want to be found or reconnectThe hunt for a con artist who had numerous different names and was leading a double life took another 18 months.

National Missing Persons Week, which begins on Sunday, aims to increase public awareness of the serious problems associated with missing people.

The annual event week is also used to spotlight long-term missing people and raise awareness of the distressing problem among Australians.

More than 34,000 of the 53,000 missing people reported to police across the country in 2021 were under the age of 18.

More than a third of those who go missing are reported missing more than once, despite the fact that 98% of those who go missing are found safe.

Private investigators are often enlisted by the loved ones of missing persons desperate for answers (stock image)