If you’re trying to determine what to do when a child goes missing, act immediately. Contact law enforcement and provide as much accurate information as possible. Do not wait to see whether the child returns on their own.
The first hours of a missing-child case can be critical. Having a clear plan can help families provide investigators with the information they need while avoiding mistakes that could interfere with the search.
Below are 10 important steps parents and caregivers should know.
Table of Contents
1. Contact Law Enforcement Immediately
Report your child missing to your local law enforcement agency immediately. Call 911 when appropriate.
Be prepared to provide information including:
- Your child’s full name and date of birth
- Height and weight
- Hair and eye color
- Clothing they were last seen wearing
- Glasses, braces, birthmarks, scars or other identifying features
- Where and when they were last seen
- Who they may have been with
- Information about any vehicle that may be involved
- Relevant medical or safety concerns
Provide investigators with a recent, clear photograph of your child.
Do not wait 24 or 48 hours to report a missing child. If you believe your child is missing, contact law enforcement.
2. Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
After reporting the child missing to law enforcement, families in the United States can contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
NCMEC’s 24-hour hotline is:
1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
NCMEC works with families and law enforcement agencies and provides resources and technical assistance in missing-child cases.
3. Carefully Check Places Where Your Child Could Be
Depending on the circumstances and the child’s age, quickly check places where a child could be hiding, sleeping or trapped.
These may include:
- Closets
- Under and inside beds
- Laundry piles
- Vehicles
- Garages and sheds
- Large containers
- Other small or concealed spaces
If your child disappears in a store, amusement venue or another public location, immediately alert employees, management or security in addition to contacting law enforcement.
Once authorities become involved, follow their instructions about where and how to search.
4. Gather Recent Photographs
Recent photographs can become extremely important in the search for a missing child.
Locate several images that clearly show the child’s current appearance. Whenever possible, choose photographs that are:
- Recent
- Clear and in focus
- High resolution
- Free of filters or effects
- Representative of the child’s current appearance
Keep the original digital files whenever possible.
Investigators and organizations assisting with a case may need photographs for bulletins, missing-child posters, media outreach and other forms of public distribution.
5. Preserve Potentially Important Information
Avoid deleting or altering information that could potentially help investigators.
This can include:
- Text messages
- Emails
- Social-media messages
- Photographs and videos
- Phone information
- Relevant online communications
- Notes, letters or other records
Write down what you remember while the details are still fresh.
Record the last time and place you saw or communicated with your child, what the child was wearing, where they may have intended to go, people they recently communicated with and anything unusual that happened before the disappearance.
Give potentially relevant information to investigators rather than trying to determine its importance yourself.
6. Coordinate Missing-Child Posters With Authorities
Missing-child posters can put a child’s photograph and identifying information in front of large numbers of people.
Before distributing information publicly, coordinate with the investigating law enforcement agency and legitimate organizations assisting with the case. This helps ensure that information being circulated is accurate, current and appropriate to release.
A missing-child poster may include:
- A clear and recent photograph
- The child’s name
- Age
- Physical description
- Date and location last seen
- Clothing description when relevant
- Identifying characteristics
- An official number for reporting tips
Whenever possible, direct tips to law enforcement or an official missing-child tip line rather than publishing private family contact information.
7. Distribute Missing-Child Information Strategically
When authorities determine that public poster distribution is appropriate, strategic placement can help more people see the child’s photograph.
Potential locations may include:
- Local businesses
- Community centers
- Transportation locations
- Churches and community organizations
- Public bulletin boards
- Locations near the child’s last known location
- Other locations recommended by investigators
Online sharing can complement physical poster distribution, but information should remain consistent with official and verified information about the case.
8. Use Social Media Carefully
Social media can spread a missing child’s photograph very quickly. Unfortunately, inaccurate information can spread just as quickly.
When sharing information about a missing child:
- Use an official or verified poster whenever possible.
- Share information from reliable sources.
- Avoid speculation about suspects or circumstances.
- Don’t present an unverified sighting as fact.
- Direct tips to law enforcement or the designated tip line.
- Correct or remove outdated information when appropriate.
If you receive information about a possible sighting, provide it to the investigating authorities rather than attempting to confront or investigate someone yourself.
9. Understand How AMBER Alerts Work
An AMBER Alert is not issued for every missing child.
Law enforcement determines whether a particular case meets the applicable criteria for an AMBER Alert. Requirements generally involve circumstances such as an abduction, a risk of serious bodily injury or death, and sufficient descriptive information to assist the public.
A child who does not qualify for an AMBER Alert can still be missing and in need of an immediate response.
Always report a missing child promptly regardless of whether you believe the case will qualify for an AMBER Alert.
10. Stay in Contact With Investigators and Keep Records
As the search continues, maintain contact with the investigator or agency handling the case.
Keep a record of important developments, including:
- Investigator contact information
- Case or report numbers
- Significant calls and messages
- Possible sightings reported to you
- Media contacts
- Organizations assisting with distribution
- Updated posters or photographs
Pass new information to investigators promptly.
Keeping information organized can become increasingly important as more people and organizations become involved.
How Other People Can Help When a Child Is Missing
You don’t have to personally know a missing child to help.
Members of the public can:
- Share verified missing-child information
- Display authorized missing-child posters
- Pay attention to photographs and identifying details
- Report potentially relevant information to authorities
- Volunteer with legitimate missing-child organizations
- Encourage businesses and community organizations to participate
- Support organizations working to increase public awareness
Sometimes the most valuable contribution is simply helping the right person see the right photograph.
Why Missing-Child Photographs Matter
A photograph gives the public something that a name or written description cannot provide: a face to recognize.
That is why getting accurate, recent photographs in front of the public can be an important component of missing-child awareness efforts.
Photo Find Missing Children Center (Photo Find MCC) works to increase awareness of missing children through the distribution of missing-child photographs and posters.
Our mission is built around a simple principle:
The more people who see a missing child’s face, the greater the opportunity for someone to recognize that child and provide potentially useful information.
Help Photo Find MCC Bring Missing Children’s Faces Into More Communities
Photo Find MCC works to increase public awareness and put missing-child information in front of people who might otherwise never see it.
There are several ways you can help:
- Support our missing-child poster distribution efforts.
- Volunteer to help expand the reach of missing-child information.
- Share verified missing-child information with your community.
- Tell businesses and community organizations about our mission.
- Make a donation to help support our work.
Every additional person who sees a missing child’s photograph represents another opportunity for recognition.
Important Missing-Child Resources
Emergency: Call 911 when appropriate.
Local law enforcement: Report a missing child immediately to your local law enforcement agency.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC):
1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
What to Do When a Child Goes Missing: A Final Reminder
When a child goes missing, don’t wait. Contact law enforcement, gather accurate information and recent photographs, preserve potentially relevant records, and follow the instructions of the authorities handling the case.
Public awareness can be powerful, but accuracy matters. Work with law enforcement and established missing-child organizations to ensure that the information being shared helps rather than complicates the search.
This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for instructions from law enforcement. In an active missing-child case, follow the directions of the investigating authorities.