A former private investigator is now donating his time to help Hudson Valley families solve missing persons cases. 

“Time is against us. The first 24 hours is critical in any kind of missing person's case," says Domingo Ramos.

Ramos founded “Hope Alive 845” and has volunteer teams from New York City to Buffalo that help him work on cases.  

Earlier this month, Ramos helped find a Middletown woman whose family reported her missing for weeks. 

 “We reached out to them,” said Ramos. “We put our team on the case and we ended up tracking her down and bringing her back home.” 

His group is also working on the Sullivan County disappearances of Shaniece Harris and Marvin Gibbs, as well as the Steven Kraft case from the Newburgh-Beacon area. 

 “We work around the clock. Our phones are open 24/7. Our main goal is to help law enforcement," says Domingo Ramos. 

More than a half a million people were reported missing in the U.S. last year, according to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center.  

If you’d like to reach “Hope Alive 845” you can do so by calling them at 845-707-4124.