MISSING A CHILD?
If your child is missing, you need to take ACTION immediately, but you
must NOT panic!!! Do the following immediately:
Missing at Home
If your child is missing from your home, search the house immediately,
inside vehicles, check closets, in and under beds, piles of laundry, inside large, inside the trunk of the car, appliances,
and wherever a child may crawl or hide.
After looking everywhere and your child is no where to be found,
call 911!
When the law enforcement get there have several pictures ready to
show to them, or idealy a Child Identifiaction Kit - try to remember what he/she was last wearing.
Right now is not the time to panic, it is your child
and you need to do whatever it takes to find him/her. There will be plenty of time later to breakdown.
After the law enforcement officers leave, go to all the neighbors
yourself, take pictures, etc. Call all his/her friends, all your relatives, etc… Email everyone you know. TAKE ACTION!
Time is critical.
Missing in public, such as a Store
Notify the store manager, security officer(s), company personal.
Then call 911. Many stores have a Code Adam plan of action— if a child is missing in a store, employees immediately take action to look for the missing child.
When you call law enforcement, provide your child's name, date of
birth, height, weight, and any other unique identifiers such as glasses, braces, beauty marks, etc.. Explain when you noticed
that your child was missing and what clothing he/she was wearing. Call someone at home, relatives, or friends to bring you
pictures immediately.
Tell them to include your child's name and identifying information
immediately into the National Crime Information
Center (NCIC) Missing Person File.
After you have reported your child missing to law enforcement, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children on their toll-free telephone number
1-800-THE-LOST
(1-800-843-5678) or go to their Hotline to talk to them on their web site.
Their website is: http://www.missingkids.com
National
Runaway Switchboard
The National Runaway Switchboard helps keep America’s runaway and at-risk youth safe and off
the streets. Call
1-800-RUNAWAY if you are a teenager who is thinking of running from home, if you have a friend who has
run and is looking for help, or if you are a runaway ready to go home. You may also call if you are a teacher looking for information to pass along to your students about alternatives to running from home.
Call if you care about a youth and want information on how you can
help someone who may be at risk of running from home. The24-hour crisis line has an experienced front-line team member ready to help you now. It’s
anonymous, confidential and free
