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The Facts About Missing Children
The Facts
- A child goes missing in the United States every 40 seconds.
- The first 3 hours are the most crucial for the safe return of a child.
- It can take more than 2 hours to gather information from a panicked parent.
The Real Missing
- More than 700,000 children go missing annually.
- 250,000 are classified as Runaways
- 150,000 are classified as “Throw-away/Abandoned”
- 300,000 are classified as Missing / Abducted
- 58,000 are taken by non-family members
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART), Report October 2002
