When Children Go Missing – How You Can Help

By Caitlin Bootsma
Consultant to the VIRTUS® Programs

Here’s a day everyone wishes there were no need to recognize: National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th. President Reagan created this day of awareness in 1983, and it continues to raise people’s knowledge surrounding the issue of missing children. This increased understanding of the problem and continues to do much to raise people’s awareness of missing children, resulting in more prevention as well as more children recovered. 

Since 1982 information about missing children has been entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) also was founded at that time. 

While these are all strides in the right direction, every caring adult can work together both to prevent child abduction and to bring children home.

Here are just a few ways you can help:

• Sign up for amber alerts: These notifications will let you know about missing children, suspected abductors or associated vehicle information in your area. Keep an eye out and report suspected activity!
   
• Share news with others: The more people are aware of missing children, the better the chance of someone spotting them. Share news of missing children on social media and raise public awareness.
   
• Talk to children in your care about abduction: In an age-appropriate way, talk to youth about the fact that child abduction happens. Warning them of “stranger danger” is not enough—abductors can sometimes be familiar faces. Urge them to fight back. Eighty-three percent of children who escape abduction fought off their kidnapper in some way.
   
• Keep your children’s info up to date: Better safe than sorry. Keep on file a recent photo of your child, their fingerprints and other identifiable info to share with police in the event that your child is missing.

Finally, share about National Missing Children’s Day with others, so they can also learn how to make a difference. You can find more info at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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