Kansas City police are asking for the public's help finding 29-year-old Sarah Lopez, who was last seen late Sunday night heading toward North Kansas City and is currently without medication she needs for a medical condition. Lopez was last seen in the Kansas City area around 11 p.m. on September 27, and officers say she appeared to be walking toward the area of I-29 and Armour in North Kansas City.
What KCPD Says About Lopez's Condition and Last Known Location
According to a post from kcpolice
on X, Lopez has medical conditions and is currently without needed medication, a detail the department flagged as central to why it is asking the public to keep an eye out for her. The post describes Lopez as having purple hair and says she was last seen wearing a dark-colored shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes with drawings on them.
Anyone who spots Lopez is asked to call 911 or notify the KCPD Missing Persons Section at 816-234-5043, per the same post. The department's missing persons page also notes that the Missing Persons Unit can be reached at that same number anytime someone returns or makes contact with family or friends, according to the Kansas City Police Department.
No Waiting Period Required to Report a Missing Person
The department's website makes clear that there is no minimum amount of time that must pass before someone can be reported missing, and that officers will investigate cases where a missing person is endangered by medical problems or other life-threatening circumstances — a policy that applies directly to Lopez's case given her described need for medication. For those wanting to file a report or request officers, the department directs the public to call its non-emergency line at 816-234-5111 to have officers dispatched to a home address.
A Missing Persons Unit Rebuilt After Staffing Cuts
KCPD's dedicated Missing Persons Section is a relatively recent addition to the department's structure. The unit disbanded in 2022 due to staffing shortages before being reinstated in April 2023, according to The Beacon, which reported that the rebuilt section now dedicates seven detectives and a sergeant specifically to missing-person investigations.
That reporting also found that Kansas City had seven adults reported missing in 2024 who had yet to be found, nearly double the four active adult cases open at the same point the year before, while active missing juvenile cases jumped from seven to 29 over the same comparison period. The Beacon additionally noted that the Missouri State Highway Patrol had recorded a fourfold increase in active adult missing-person reports statewide compared with the prior year.
Thousands of Cases Handled Annually
The scale of the unit's caseload is substantial: KCPD received 1,125 missing-person reports in 2024 and recovered 1,118 individuals, according to KCUR. Of those recoveries, 872 were classified as missing or runaway juveniles, the station reported. As of April 23, 2025, KCPD's Daily Missing Person/Runaway Juvenile Analysis listed 34 active cases, including 20 involving African American people and 12 involving white people, per the same KCUR report.
For now, Lopez remains missing, and police have not indicated whether the case has changed since Tuesday's post. Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the KCPD Missing Persons Section at 816-234-5043.
