Milwaukee police previously asked for the public's help finding Aquarian Charles, a 21-year-old man who was last seen around 2 p.m. Tuesday on Fond du Lac Avenue east of 107th Street on the city's Northwest Side. Charles was listed as critically missing and was found safe after being reported critically missing on September 8.
According to FOX6 News Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Police Department released details of the investigation and asked anyone with information to call District 4 at 414-935-7242. Charles is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 210 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray Nike hoodie, black jogger-style pants, and white shoes.
Why Police Call This a Critical Missing Case
The critically missing label comes from the department's Standard Operating Procedure 180, which Milwaukee police apply when factors like severe medical needs, cognitive or physical disabilities, suicidal ideation, suspected foul play, or age 11 and under are present, per the Milwaukee Police Department's own policy document. The policy document lists the criteria for the designation in missing-person cases. According to the Milwaukee Police Department, there is not a 24 hour waiting period to report a missing person. Wisconsin law requires the department to provide a form for reports of missing persons at risk and missing veterans at risk, according to section 165.785 of the Wisconsin statutes.
District 4 is headquartered at 6929 W. Silver Spring Drive and covers 28.8 square miles on Milwaukee's Northwest Side, making it the city's largest police district by land area, serving more than 90,000 residents, according to the City of Milwaukee. The area where Charles was last seen is on Fond du Lac Avenue near 107th Street. The City of Milwaukee's Market Analysis - Fond du Lac & North Area Plan identified ample vacant land for future residential development, including 1,890 vacant parcels.
Why No Silver Alert or Phone Alert Went Out
Charles' age puts his case in something of a gap between the state and federal alert systems built for other missing-person scenarios. Wisconsin's statewide Silver Alert program is limited by statute to missing adults 60 or older with Alzheimer's, dementia, or a permanent cognitive impairment, according to the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, which is why Charles' disappearance didn't trigger a highway message board alert. Wireless Emergency Alerts sent to phones near a last known location are another alert mechanism, but the available information does not establish whether they apply in Charles' case.
The available information does not establish how Suzanne's Law or standard NCIC entry applies to Charles. With Silver Alert eligibility limited by age and the applicability of a Wireless Emergency Alert not established, Milwaukee police can turn to the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network for a Missing Endangered Person Alert in some cases, with text and email bulletins among the distribution methods described in reporting.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Cases
Charles' disappearance is one of several critically missing cases Milwaukee police have handled in recent weeks. Hoodline has reported on the search for 68-year-old Sherman Williams, and this week also covered the case of a critically missing teen, Daniela Pena-Morales, who was later found safe. Milwaukee police have handled multiple such investigations recently.
Milwaukee police have recorded significant volumes of critical missing person reports in recent years. Available reporting cites a figure from 2002 and estimates a 20-to-50-percent summer increase associated with warmer-weather outdoor movement. The available sources do not establish whether the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was involved in Charles's case.
Aquarian Charles was found safe after Milwaukee police reported him critically missing.
