Runaway Child Info:

Running away can be a frightening experience for both the child and their family. It is important to be candid and direct with law enforcement concerning the circumstances that may have led to your child running away. Your child becomes vulnerable as soon as he or she leaves home potentially falling victim to drugs, alcohol, crime, sexual exploitation, pornography, and/or prostitution.

Immediate Action

The first hours following the runaway episode are the most important in locating a child. While many runaway children return home on their own over time, it is critical to take every action available to you to help quickly locate your child, immediately follow these steps.

• Check with your child’s friends, school, neighbors, relatives, or anyone else who may know of or have clues about your child's whereabouts. Ask them to notify you if they hear from your child.
• Report the runaway to local law enforcement. Ask that an officer respond to your home to take the report. Write down the officer's name, badge number, telephone number, and the report number.
• Remember to keep a notebook and record all information about the investigation. This is a good way to keep track of everyone you talked to about your child and the circumstances and issues you discussed.
• ake sure law enforcement enters your child's name and description into the National Crime Information Center's (NCIC) databases. Law-enforcement agencies across the country have access to NCIC. This information will not give your child a record with law enforcement, but it may aid in his or her safe return.
• Provide law enforcement with a recent photograph of your child. Also make fingerprints, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples if you have them, and dental records and prints available to law enforcement. This information may need to be added to the existing NCIC entry.
• If your local law enforcement agency won't enter information about your child into NCIC'sdatabases, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will. Contact your nearest FBI field office for help. There is no law requiring a waiting period for reporting a child missing to law enforcement or for entry into NCIC.
• Call or visit several local spots that your child may frequent, and check with area hospitals and treatment centers. If your child was employed, call the employer or coworkers.
• Call the National Runaway Switchboard. Ask if your child has left a message, and leave a message for him or her.
• Have posters or fliers made. Place them in store windows, and distribute them to truck stops, youth-oriented businesses, hospitals, treatment centers, law-enforcement agencies, and local spots your child may frequent.

NOTE: If you have reason to believe your child may have been abducted or lured away by a non-family member, do not disturb or remove any of your child’s items before law enforcement arrives. Doing so could destroy key clues about the disappearance and/or evidence at a potential crime scene.

Follow-up Actions

• Recheck with your child’s friends, school, neighbors, and current employer. Do not overlook your child’s old boyfriends or girlfriends; people from camp, a religious organization, after-school activities, coworkers, etc.
• Publicise the case by distributing fliers locally, countywide, statewide, nationwide, and internationally, if circumstances warrant, with a current photograph and description of your child along with any known information about the disappearance, using the format provided in this brochure.

If Your Child Contacts You But Is Unwilling to Come Home

• Show love and concern for your child, not anger or fear. Remember the goal is to help work through problems and have him or her return home.
• Ask if you can stay in touch with your child. If so, set specific plans on a form of contact whether it be through a telephone number, mailing address, electronic mail, or facsimile number.

Return to the Report a Missing or Runaway Child page.