Remembering the loved ones who haven’t come home: Missing Persons Day 2026
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The family of Amber Hoopes and the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office invite the community to assemble at the Bonneville County Courthouse this Saturday for Missing Persons Day, an annual event raised to bring attention to all active missing persons cases across Idaho. The statewide movement was first established following Hoopes' disappearance 25 years ago.
The annual tradition began in 2005 when Audra Burgener, Hoopes' aunt, petitioned the Idaho Legislature to designate September 14 as Missing Persons Day to honor her niece, who disappeared four years prior.
"It's going to be a great event this year," Audra Burgener, the event's original creator and Amber Hoopes' aunt, said. "We're going to have some musical numbers and Sergeant Lovell will open up the program."
Currently, there are 183 active missing persons cases across Idaho, leaving nearly 200 families searching for answers. Nationally, the National Crime Information Center reports more than 83,000 open missing persons cases.
Sergeant Bryan Lovell, Public Information Officer with the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office and original investigator on the Hoopes case, will speak on the event's importance to law enforcement and the community. And he isn't the only speaker making an appearance.
"Amber's mom and dad will be speaking, and they haven't spoken for 20 years," said Audra. "And then the young lady that was taken off of her trampoline, she'll be speaking for the first time publicly."
It has been 25 years since Hoopes disappeared from her grandparents' home in the middle of the night. Although the primary suspect died by suicide during a police standoff, Hoopes has never been found. Her family still holds out hope that new information will surface.
"We don't want her to be forgotten," Audra said. "I just believe somebody knows something. And it's a way to remember not just Amber, but all of the missing people that are out there."
Missing Persons Day 2026 will be this Saturday, Sept. 12th, at 12 noon and will be held in front of the Bonneville County Courthouse, 605 N. Capital Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID.
