A&E'S HIT CRIME AND JUSTICE PROGRAM "THE FIRST 48: MISSING PERSONS" RETURNS WITH ALL NEW EPISODES ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15 AT 10PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012 - A&E Network's hit series "The First 48: Missing Persons," which follows the critical first 48 hours of missing persons cases with the Chicago Police Department, returns with all new episodes on Thursday, March 15 at 10PM ET/PT.

Every 30 minutes, someone in Chicago vanishes. It's the job of the Chicago Police Department's Missing Persons Unit to find them and bring them home safely. Continuing as the first series ever allowed unrestricted access to Chicago police investigations, "The First 48: Missing Persons" tracks this elite, dedicated squad of detectives as they scour the city's streets and alleys.

If detectives don't find the missing persons in the first 48 hours, their chances of finding them alive are cut in half. Under intense time pressure, detectives must create a portrait of the missing person -- their habits and tendencies, friends and enemies -- while managing the raw emotions of family conflict. Then detectives hit the streets to run down every lead, interview every witness and follow every hunch. They solve over 95 percent of their cases, the highest closure rate in the nation.

In the upcoming episodes, detectives face even more puzzling and emotionally harrowing cases. On the city's west side, Detectives Pam Childs and Lorna Conley confront the likely kidnapping of, not one, but two women and their babies. Another case pits Detectives Ayanna Corbin and Mike Cochran against the clock as they frantically work to stop a potential suicide. And in downtown Chicago, Detective Bob Berent descends into the dark labyrinth of tunnels running underneath the city's most fashionable shops and hotels in a desperate search for a missing and endangered high school English teacher.

The first season of "The First 48: Missing Persons" averaged 1.7 million total viewers and ranked as a top five crime and justice program on cable.

"The First 48: Missing Persons" is produced by Found Films, LLC for A&E Network. Executive producers for Found Films, LLC are Robert Schneiger and Gary Sherman. Executive producers for A&E Network are David McKillop and Laura Fleury.

About A&E Network

A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 99 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from where unscripted shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "The Glades" and "Breakout Kings," to signature non-fiction franchises, including the Emmy-winning "Intervention," "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Hoarders," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48." The A&E website is located at www.aetv.com.