Welfare and Whereabouts

Should one of your American family members become missing, or if you are concerned about the welfare of an American family member in Bermuda, the Consulate can assist you.  Keep in mind that once an individual is located, you will be notified ONLY if he/she has signed an authorization or given verbal permission to a Consular Officer to waive the Privacy Act provisions.

The provisions of the Privacy Act require that U.S. citizens over the age of 18 must provide a written Privacy Act Waiver before we can release information about them to third parties. If there is no Privacy Act Waiver, we can simply confirm whether or not we were able to contact the individual, but cannot provide other information.

For more information on Welfare and Whereabouts and the Privacy Act please visit http://travel.state.gov: Welfare and Whereabouts for U.S. Citizens Abroad.

What Information to Have Available Before You Call

In order to assist us in locating the U.S. citizen abroad, it is helpful to have the following information available:

• Caller's full name, address, phone number and relationship
• Name of the person abroad
• Date and place of birth of the person abroad
• Passport number (if known)
• Last known address and phone number; itinerary
• Reason for their travel/residence abroad (business, tourism, etc.)
• Date of last contact
• Other points of contact abroad (friends, business associates, hotel, etc.)
• If ill, where hospitalized and, if relevant to current hospitalization, the name and phone number of attending physician in the U.S.
• You may also be asked to provide a photo of the missing person
• It may also be useful for you to contact credit card companies, telephone companies, etc. to try to determine if the missing individual's accounts have been used recently and where those transactions occurred.
• Travel plans and the date when he/she entered Bermuda

For Emergency Family Messages also include:

• Nature of the emergency
• What you want the person told about the emergency
• Name, address and telephone number and relationship of person you wish the welfare and whereabouts subject to call after the emergency family message is relayed to him or her by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Consular officers will use a variety of methods to locate and confirm the welfare of the missing person, including, but not limited to ...

• Using the information you provide to try to locate the person.
• Checking with local immigration and police officials if possible.
• Checking local hotels, youth hostels and other places where foreigners (U.S. citizens) are known to stay or visit.
• Checking local hospitals, jails, and, if appropriate, local morgues. (Note: In countries where a consular treaty is in force, local authorities have certain obligations to inform the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate of the arrest, injury, hospitalization, or death of a U.S. citizen.)

What the Consulate cannot do in Welfare and Whereabouts cases:

• We cannot force a U.S. citizen to speak to the consular officer or to permit the Consular Officer to visit him or her 

• We cannot compel a U.S. citizen to return to the United States. (An exception to this would be the formal extradition of a fugitive, which is accomplished with the cooperation of foreign authorities pursuant to specific treaty obligations.)

• As noted above, we cannot release information about an individual without the individual's consent pursuant to the Privacy Act. Certain specific exceptions specified in the Privacy Act apply. The exceptions include such as law enforcement requests and where the subject's health and safety is in question.

For missing and sick adults; emergency family messages; child abuse, neglect, abandonment or exploitation cases; and child welfare in cases involving parental child abduction or custody disputes, please contact the American Citizen Services Section at the Consulate, or phone the Office of American Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225/5226.

Child Abduction /Child Custody