Established in 1984, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides services nationwide for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered and sexually exploited children.
Research Findings Key Data in 2006
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's second National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrown away Children1 (NISMART) an estimated 1,315,600 children were believed to be missing by their caretakers in which the caretakers were alarmed and tried to find the child.
# Of those children 55% were 14 or older, 34% were Black or Hispanic, and 57% were male. Those percents in the U.S. child population at that time were respectively 84%, 31%, and 51%.
# 61% (797,500) of those children were reported missing to law enforcement.
# 203,900 of those children were the victims of family abduction of which 28% (56,500) were reported missing.
# 58,200 of those children were the victims of nonfamily abduction of which 21% (12,100) were reported missing.
# 115 of those children were the victims of "stereotypical" kidnapping. These crimes involved a "stranger" or slight acquaintance who held a child overnight, transported the child 50 miles or more, killed the child, demanded ransom, or intended to keep the child permanently.
# 662,228 records were entered for juveniles by law enforcement into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) databases in 2006.²
# Since being established by the U.S. Congress in 1984 the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) has received reports of 127,737 missing child cases³ and helped recover 110,276 children. In 2006 NCMEC assigned 10,959 missing-child cases and helped resolve 11,615 such cases which included assisting in the recovery of 10,761 children.
# One in 5.9 children featured in NCMEC's photodistribution program is recovered as a direct result of someone recognizing that featured photograph.
# Since 1998 NCMEC has handled 441,937 CyberTipline® leads reporting the potential sexual exploitation of children including 21,343 involving online enticement of children.
¹Andrea J. Sedlak, et al. "National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview" in NISMART. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, October 2002, NCJ 196465, available at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov.
²Personal communication from Technical Information Specialist, Criminal Justice Information Service (CJIS) Division Intelligence Group-NCIC Unit, Programs Development Section, CJIS Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, on February 20, 2007.
³This number includes 5,192 reports received regarding children missing in 2005 as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2005-MC-CX-K024 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® and CyberTipline® are registered service marks of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Copyright © 2007 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.