An Overview On Missing Children

Time is an abducted child�s worst enemy. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are murdered are killed within three hours of their abduction. It takes, on the average, two hours for a parent to report a child missing. This gives responders only one hour to get an investigation up and running in an attempt to locate and recover the child alive. Investigating Missing Children Cases: A Guide for First Responders and Investigators provides a solid training guide on missing children investigative techniques, enabling law enforcement professionals to respond confidently with a plan of action that offers the best possible chance for a positive outcome. The book provides law enforcement agencies with the most current information available to guide them through a missing or runaway child dispatch. It is designed to help investigators respond quickly, expeditiously evaluate the situation, conduct an Endangerment Risk Assessment (ERA) of the child, and commence a thorough, organized investigation�starting from the moment the police are contacted. By following the guidelines in this book, those tasked with these cases can make the best possible decisions in the shortest amount of time. The protocols and methodologies presented are based on personal police experience and statistical evidence from research and studies gathered from thousands of runaway and missing children cases. Details on those studies and their findings are provided in the appendix. Time is of the essence in missing children cases. Make every second count.

Child abduction is the most widespread form of child victimization studied. In 1992 alone, a total of 27,553 cases of missing children were reported in New York State through the Missing Children Register. The majority of missing children cases involved suspected runaways. Abduction cases accounted for one percent of the total report; those committed by family members comprised the most frequent form of abduction (as opposed to abduction by strangers). In addition, 88 percent of the children reported missing were age 13 or older, 60 percent were girls, and 58 percent were white. Child abduction is a serious socio-economic problem. Until now there has been no text that addresses the incidence, psychological dimensions, and explanatory models of child abductions. This book fills a need by focusing on variables that assist in confronting and preventing child abductions, including teacher training, public education and awareness, psychotherapeutic techniques for families and friends of abducted children as well as the children themselves.