The police often issue urgent missing person appeals so that the public can help find people.
Rarely a week goes by where Avon and Somerset Police do not have to issue one for someone in Bristol and Somerset.
Yet the appeals do not include the surnames of people who are missing.
This is not because the force do not know it but rather to limit the "impact" on having a missing person appeal after they have been found.
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A spokesperson for the force has explained: "When we release a missing person’s image we are asking people to contact us if they see them.
The statement continued: "Knowing their family name won’t, in the majority of cases, assist anyone looking out for them or increase the number of reported sightings/ calls from people providing information.
"We are also conscious of the impact releasing an individual’s last name could have on their welfare both while they are missing and afterwards, with online news stories about their disappearance often not removed.
"Each case is treated individually and while we will only use a first name in the first instance, if the case becomes protracted or there is an investigative need to release a family name then we will still do so."
