Level 1: Level 1 is considered the US normal, and as a standard of practice, should not apply to individuals and teams serving internationally.
Level 2: International normal readiness level. Standard overseas threat level. Level 2 situations are taken care of locally by the field team.
Level 3: Local Field Team manages the situation, but the team informs Reliant's International Crisis Manager by reporting the international incident so that Reliant can evaluate the situation. Typically at this level, the incident is localized and on a smaller scale. Reliant would not know of the incident without the field team informing us. Reliant would like to hear that "we are fine" and be available to help evaluate the situation and provide assistance if needed.
Level 4: Local Field Team still mostly manages the situation. As soon as possible, the team informs Reliant's International Crisis Manager by reporting the international incident and Reliant's ICMT is now actively involved in the decision-making and helping the field team directly.
Level 5: Management of the crisis is now beyond the capacity of the local field team to manage independently. Reliant's International Crisis Management Team or its pre-approved delegate is now managing the situation until the Local Field Team returns to a position to do so themselves. This is a major crisis resulting in ongoing disruption to field operations or the threat now inhibits the ability of the team to safely continue.
Specific Readiness Level To Determine Next Steps
| Level 5 | Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
Missing Person develops into a Level 5 Incident when a person is missing for more than 24 hours. Or if the incident becomes a kidnapping (See Contingency Planning: Kidnappings). | A person is missing for more than 6 hours, during a potential crisis, or with sufficient reason to suspect danger. | A person is missing for unknown reasons for up to 6 hours with normal or moderately elevated danger levels or if a person misses a routine check-in during travel. | A person misses a routine check-in in their base town or arrives up to an hour late occasionally without prior notification. |
Steps to Reduce Probability and Consequences
- Practice situational awareness (Color Codes for Situational Awareness) and communicate routinely team leaders
- Be prepared to activate other contingency plans if situations arise
- If additional contingencies occur, strongly consider immediate Evacuation
- Maintain updated communication and expectations when separating
- It is recommended that households with children make family-level contingency plans with their children. For example, talk through what kids will do if they get lost, etc.
Applicable Corporate Policies
- Evacuations may be authorized and mandated at either the local, Self-Evacuation, or Reliant level.
- Know your Places of Refuge
- Confidentiality During Crisis Events
Crisis Resolution Protocol
- As soon as you are able, begin documenting and gathering information
- Contact Reliant to report the incident: Crisis Reporting for International Incident
- Assign personnel to investigate and verify that the individual(s) are in fact missing. Note: One of the first steps to take with missing personnel is to start a basic investigation to confirm whether your personnel simply became lost, were injured and in a hospital, wandered off on their own initiative (unplanned sight-seeing trip), etc. They can often be quickly located, and the potential crisis situation is canceled.
- If they are not found, continue through the remainder of the steps below
- Gather all remaining personnel and require constant supervision and communication to reduce the risk of another missing person
- Identify the last known location of the victims and establish a time frame for when they were noted as missing
- Reliant will reach out to receive more details for their internal crisis report. Eventually, Reliant will share a communication tracking log that will serve as a way for team leaders and Shared Crisis Authority and Responsibility in Reliant Partnerships to all view communication updates between Reliant and the field team member
- Contact local authorities and file a missing person report, (The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) app has local "911" numbers you can call- See Helpful International Risk Management Resources)
- Contact the Embassy and Consulate for Assistance and notify them of the situation
- Confirm their routes of travel leading up to the incident and locations they might have visited en route (potentially use Location Documentation)
- Contact their last known location and verify the time of departure, anticipated route, expected time of arrival, confirm their mode of travel to include a detailed description of the vehicle and inquire about any possible deviations from a direct route to their destination
- Contact hospitals and police stations along their route of travel and inquire about any persons matching their descriptions
- Ensure their place of residence has been searched thoroughly for the missing person, clues, evidence, notes, telephone messages, computers, cell phones or personal effects. All of these may provide evidence to the location of the missing person
- Once the missing personnel are located, the crisis will either be concluded or elevated to a Level 5 crisis situation, depending on circumstances and handled accordingly. Reference other incident protocols such as Contingency Planning: Kidnappings as appropriate.
