Child Abduction, Missing Children and Runaway Resources

2 Comments January 22, 2009

The following resources have been selected as a starting point to assist private investigators who are working with parents who have experienced the tragedy of a child abduction or who have a child who has run away. As previously mentioned in the beginning of this text, it is paramount to begin these cases quickly and gain as much exposure as possible in order to contain the search area. It is a common belief that most victims of abduction will remain within a one mile radius of the crime. However this is typically not true in cases involving runaways and parental abductions; these persons often end up as far away as a different state or country.

Caution: Civilian investigators should always work with law enforcement personnel working in an official capacity so as not to hinder or disrupt an ongoing investigation; the ramifications of which should be obvious.

As the Team Hope organization, linked below, notes, “According to Federal law, the police are obligated to take the missing persons report and enter the information into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) without a waiting period. If you encounter problems reporting your child as missing, please share these laws with your police department.”

USEFUL WEBSITES

• Amber Alert
• Beyond Missing
• National Runaway Switchboard

AGENCIES, PROGRAMS & ORGANIZATIONS

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
• FBI: Crimes Against Children
• InterPol: Missing Children
• Reunite International
• SafePlaces.org
• Team Hope

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has published an OUTSTANDING reference to conducting missing children investigations for law enforcement titled Missing and Abducted Children: A Law-Enforcement Guide to Case Investigation and Program Management; some of it is certainly applicable to assisting private investigators.

This article is a small excerpt from The Art of Skip Tracing and Missing Persons Investigations, an online skip tracing course for private investigators.