The federal and state agencies are not side-stepping the issue. They are actually very involved with the family and supporters. In actuality, they are basically saying that the local agency, being the MPD, failed to notify them according to Federal and State requirements and has refused their assistance in Brittney's case. To me, that isn't side-stepping.
*The Alabama Bureau of Investigation Center For Missing and Exploited Children (which is also responsible for missing adults per Alabama Code - Section 26-19-2) DOES HAVE BW listed as:
a Missing adult, category: Involuntary.
*BW missing person case number is 120600259
*Alabama Code - Section 26-19-1: DEFINITION OF MISSING PERSON:
A person 18 years old or older whose disappearance is possibly not voluntary.
*There are several specific functions of this bureau, however some are irrelevent to BW missing person investigation, such as campaigns to fingerprint children, therefore I included only included the ones that correspond to this case:Alabama Code - Section 26-19-4: SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF BUREAU:
(1) To receive and promptly enter into the Department of Public Safety's computer system all reports of law enforcement agencies, and other persons and agencies, of missing children and adults, exploited children, and of unidentified deceased persons, and all pertinent information submitted by the person or agency reporting which is contained in any investigation or investigations conducted pursuant to the report...
(2) To coordinate with and provide assistance to state and local public and private nonprofit agencies, including those of other states and the federal government, in investigating cases of missing persons, exploited children, and unidentified bodies and to conduct appropriate investigations.
*Alabama Code - Section 26-19-7: DUTIES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES UPON RECEIVING REPORT OF MISSING PERSON:
Upon receiving a report of a person believed to be missing, the law enforcement agency shall conduct a preliminary investigation to DETERMINE WHETHER the PERSON IS MISSING.
If the person is determined to be missing, the agency shall immediately enter identifying and descriptive information about the person to the Alabama Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ACMEC) and to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) through the Criminal Justice Information Center (CJIC). Law enforcement agencies having direct access to the CJIC and the NCIC computer shall enter and retrieve the data directly and shall cooperate in the entry and retrieval of data on behalf of law enforcement agencies which do not have direct access to the systems. Law enforcement agencies shall likewise report or enter data to ACMEC relating to unidentified deceased persons.
So, BW is indeed being categorized as an INVOLUNTARY MISSING PERSON by LE agencies. Missing Persons Case numbers are not assigned until an investigation yields the possibility that a person 18 years or over is involuntarily missing. Due to this reasons the Alabama Bureau of Investigations has attempted to provide supplementary resources (including state funding ), but MPD feels it is not in need of assistance and has refused it. From my personal conversations with residents here in Alabama, MPD's decision to refuse funding from the ABI's and other auxiliaries, is being viewed as irresponsible.
I know it can be confusing as different states have different laws. I hope this helps clarify the confusion about BW being categorized, by LE, as an involuntary, missing person.
