Well...yeah. I don't know what it's like in all 50 states, but in general, unless the person who is trying to report a missing person actually goes to the police station, they aren't going to be prioritized. Half of the missing people reported each day are found by family members without assistance from LE - and there's little to no relationship to how people act in terms of urgency and presentation of facts...and whether the person will voluntarily show up.
LE cannot do everything. It often takes some pushing to find the right jurisdiction for a MP report - it's not an ongoing crime; it's not a crime at all.
Part of the problem is that LE is often reluctant to get involved in an adult MP case immediately. Being a missing adult is not a crime, the other problem was jurisdiction, Gabby had been living in Florida but did not disappear from there. She was no longer a resident NY and while her Mom thought that she had last been in Grand Teton, her family couldn't say for sure where she was went she went missing.