Over 30,000 Children Are Still Missing in the US. What is Being Done to Find Them?

The FBI reports that about 460,000 children go missing in the U.S. every year. In the time it takes to brew a cup of coffee in your Keurig, 2 more kids are gone. It’s as if 7 buses took 400+ kids to school every day and came back empty, with no explanation. Fortunately, over 90% are found quickly. But more than 30,000 still haven’t come home. Picture the audience at a college basketball game . . . then double that. Are we doing all we can to find them? If not, why not?

Stranger Kidnapping

The first thing that comes to mind with missing children is kidnapping by a stranger, and this does account for tens of thousands of cases. It includes the unthinkable: human trafficking, sex slavery, murder. Although our minds immediately go to the worst-case scenarios, thankfully this accounts for just 27% of cases.

Non-Custodial Parent Kidnapping

As for the other 73%, this includes cases of kidnapping by a non-custodial parent or family member, sometimes for nefarious purposes or to inflict suffering on an estranged spouse, and sometimes as a result of mental illness or substance abuse that has clouded judgment. Obviously, those cases are often just as urgent to solve as stranger kidnappings, as the parent could be a danger to the child.

However, sometimes a loving and stable non-custodial parent disagrees with a custody ruling, or even preempts custody-sharing by disappearing with the child before a decision is made. In some cases, this is to rescue the child from a dangerous situation that the legal system has not been able to handle appropriately and quickly enough. This is still a criminal act, of course, but it is worth noting that in such cases, the child may be quite safe living under a different identity or in a foreign country with their parent. 

Runaways

A third example of missing children cases includes runaways up to 18 years old. Even if they are escaping an abusive home situation, these cases are also urgent to solve as we don’t know whether the child is in a safe place–with a friend or supporting themselves in a job and living with roommates, or on the streets with all the danger that represents. A homeless teen is in great danger of violent crime and involvement in drugs and other criminal activity. 

Unaccompanied Migrant Children

Another large and growing group are unaccompanied migrant children. Between 2018 and 2023, over 291,000 immigrant children did not receive proper court notices. This means they were not officially informed about their immigrant court hearings and likely missed those appearances. As a result, they are not properly tracked and followed-up on in the system and are especially vulnerable to exploitation. They can also be deported in absentia and promptly removed from the country when located by authorities, even if this would not be in their best interests and did not give a fair hearing to their situation. So for example, a 14-year-old fleeing a forced marriage to an abusive older man may be deported right back to his home without ever having an opportunity to make her case. 

What Does Law Enforcement Do?

The first thing that should happen when a child goes missing is that someone calls 911 immediately. Time is of the essence. If they cannot be located within the first 24 hours, the odds of finding them decrease dramatically. The police will want to have recent photos of your child and a description of what they were wearing and any identifying characteristics. In serious and clear abduction cases, the FBI will jump in to help with a Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team who bring their extensive expertise to help the police bring the child home safely. 

AMBER Alerts

AMBER alerts are a way to get the word out quickly to mobilize the whole population to look out for a missing child soon after they disappear. These alerts are issued across communication networks and broadcast over radio, television, cell phones, and on digital highway signs. Law enforcement personnel and private citizens across the region will keep an eye out. Amber alerts have resulted in the recover of over 1,200 missing children. When you get an alert like this, one way you can help is to share it on social media to get the word out to people who might have missed it. 

At-Home Prevention

To keep your children safe from this kind of danger, teach them to aware of strangers and keep a safe distance. Encourage them to run to you immediately and tell you if something doesn’t feel right. Tell them what to do if someone tries to take them. Give them a sense of empowerment to do what they are able to in order to keep themselves safe and seek help when they need it. 

It’s also vital to monitor your kids’ online activities to make sure they are not in communication with people who may deceive them. Make sure they know not to share their address and identifying details with strangers. 

Local-Level Prevention

Beyond keeping your own kids safe, you could also do volunteer work with “at-risk” children to help reduce their vulnerability and identify situations that may need intervention by authorities for child protection. You should report suspicious activity and intervene if necessary. Make it your business if it appears someone is trying to lure a child into a car or pull them away.

National-Level Prevention

To make a difference at the national level, support child safety organizations by donating or volunteering with groups like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And lobby your government to continue and increase programs that fund law enforcement and the FBI, which plays an absolutely crucial role in recovering lost children. The FBI is able to coordinate and keep track of evidence and suspects across state lines in ways that may be invisible to local law enforcement. They have a vast reservoir of experience and proven methodologies that has taken decades to develop. Programs that support at-risk children and their families also need continued and increased funding to decrease the number of children who go missing. Let’s make sure in this budget-cutting era we don’t literally throw out the baby with the bathwater.

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