The age progression technique to support Missing Children Argentina: A case report

Abstract

The phenomenon of missing persons draws the attention of authorities, who implement measures to address the issue. Missing Children Argentina (MCA) is a non-profit organization that supports the families of missing individuals in Argentina. MCA receives support with age progression techniques from the Italian non-profit organization Italian Missing Children (IMC). MCA and IMC have been collaborating since 2020, processing nine cases of digital aging. This paper presents the case of a missing girl, and her age progression is reported as an example to document the collaborative work between the two organizations. The age progression technique, performed due to photographs of the missing person's relatives, is based on scientific standards of facial aging. Through the use of Adobe Photoshop (2022^®), specific facial morphological features were identified in high-resolution reference photos and combined to create an updated image of the missing individual. The digitally aged image is then included in a poster and shared on social media. The poster includes the time and place of the disappearance, personal details of the missing person, contact information for potential sightings, original photos taken closest to the time of disappearance, and the digitally age-progressed images. It is crucial to inform the public about the possibility of requesting age progression for long-term missing persons. This technique can update the appearance of the individual and significantly support search efforts.