BBC Reported Missing is back with focus on two vulnerable Sheffield men - how to watch

BBC’s Reported Missing returns to screens around the country this week for a fourth series.

The series, which covers numerous police agencies and related organisations across the country in their efforts to locate missing people, follows one or more cases from the initial 999 call to the conclusion.

The much-awaited show returned after a ‘gut-wrenching’ third series, where it brought viewers to watch officers and other agencies search for persons suffering from dementia as well as those with drug problems.

The TV crews have also been with officers to comfort worried relatives. Tragically, the series also highlighted the discovery of a 52-year-old woman named Ruthy who was found dead after she went missing for more than a month.

Here is what you can expect in the fourth series of BBC Reported Missing when it returns and how you can watch it on TV.

What is the first episode of BBC Reported Missing series 4 about?

In the first episode, the series follows the journey of mum, Becky, who discovers that her 18-year-old son named Matthew, has failed to return home from college in Barnsley on his usual evening bus, prompting her to alert the police.

Although this would hardly be out of the ordinary for many young people, Matthew is autistic, which means that he has never missed the bus before.

Checks are made with Matthew’s college in Barnsley as officers from South Yorkshire Police travel to his home but no one has seen him. Matthew suffers from stress-induced seizures so Inspector Danielle Spencer rapidly escalates the investigation to high risk at Snig Hill police station in Sheffield.

Concern heightens further when a friend of Matthew’s discloses that he was involved in an altercation with another student at college that day.

The first episode also looks at how the police search for a 29-year-old man named Luke, who has disappeared from his Sheffield care home.

The first episode of Reported Missing series four airs on BBC One on Tuesday, October 11 at 9pm.

You may also watch it online via BBC iPlayer along with previous episodes.