Just in Case...Guidelines in
case your child might someday be missing
The rising awareness of crimes
being committed against children—and of missing children in particular—has
left many families feeling vulnerable. It is important to be aware and
alert, but you and your family do not need to be afraid.
You should, however, be wary of gadgets and gimmicks that purport to
protect your child or any sort of data-collection or registration services
storing information about your child. To help ensure others do not misuse
this information, you should be the only person to keep
this information about your child.
The most important key to child safety is effective communication
with your child. Remember, children are more vulnerable to abduction
or sexual exploitation when they feel no one at home is listening or
think their needs are not being met in the home.
The first step you should take is to establish an atmosphere in the home
in which your children truly feel comfortable about discussing sensitive
matters and relating experiences in which anyone may have approached
them in an inappropriate manner or a way that made them feel scared,
uncomfortable, or confused. The simple truth is children are often
too afraid or confused to report their experiences and fears. Allow them
to talk freely about their likes, dislikes, friends, and true feelings.
This brochure gives instructions about the actions you should take to
prepare for the remote possibility that your child may
someday be missing. It also provides instructions about the immediate actions
you should take when you believe your child is missing.
Preparation
There are six steps you should take now to be prepared in case your
child might someday be missing. Collecting the data described below
will help law enforcement search for and identify your child when he
or she is recovered.
- Keep a complete description of your child. This
description must include color of hair, color of eyes, height, weight,
and date of birth. In addition the descriptions should include identifiers
such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, braces on teeth, pierced ears,
and other unique physical attributes. The complete description should
be written down.
- Take color photographs of your child every six months or
more often if the child's appearance changes such as due to loss
of a tooth or a change in hair style. Photographs
should be of high quality and in sharp focus so your child is easily
recognizable. Head and shoulder portraits from different angles,
such as those taken by school photographers, are preferable, but
make certain you have a photograph that most resembles your child.
Candid photographs may be more representative of how your child looks
than a posed shot. For information about the importance of having
a good quality photograph of your child visit www.missingkids.com,
and from the home page click on the link to “Parents & Guardians.”
- Have your dentist prepare dental charts and prints for
your child. Be sure the dental chart is updated each time an examination
or dental work is performed and dental prints are taken once every
two years until your child is 18 years old. Make sure
your dentist maintains accurate, up-to-date dental charts and X-rays
for your child as a routine part of his or her normal office procedure.
If you move, you should get a copy from your former dentist to
keep yourself until a new dentist is found. Make certain the information
is easily accessible should you need it quickly. Also consider
taking a bite impression of your child’s teeth. Take a two-inch
square of flat material such as Styrofoam® and have
your child bite partially through it. The bite should be strong
enough to leave an impression of the upper and lower teeth. A new
bite sample should be made each time your child loses or grows
a tooth.
- Know where your child’s medical records are located. Medical
records, particularly X-rays, may be invaluable in helping to identify
a recovered child. It is important to have all permanent scars, birthmarks,
blemishes, and broken bones recorded. You should find out from your
child’s doctor where such records are located and how you may
be able to obtain them if the need arises.
- Arrange with your local law-enforcement agency to have
your child fingerprinted. In order for fingerprints to
be useful in identifying a person, they must be properly taken.
Your law-enforcement agency has trained personnel to help ensure
the fingerprints taken are useful. They will give you the fingerprint
card and not keep a record of the prints.
- Consider having a DNA sample taken from your child. DNA,
or deoxyribonucleic acid, is rapidly becoming the “gold standard”
for identifications. There are many DNA collection kits available,
but it is simple for you to collect a sample. For example an old
toothbrush used by your child is rich with his or her
DNA. Allow the toothbrush to air dry and place it in a brown envelope,
have your child lick the envelope shut, and label it. The same procedure
may be used for other samples such as baby teeth, an old hairbrush
used exclusively by your child for at least one month, and dried
blood from a bandage. If using a buccal-swab sample from the inside
of your child’s mouth it is important to follow the instructions
to allow for the swab to dry prior to storage.
As a family project make an identification box for each family member.
Each family member should use a separate shoebox. In each shoebox place
one family member’s fingerprints, extra dental X-rays and prints
as obtained from the dentist, a recent picture, and the DNA sample in separate
brown envelopes. Store the box at room temperature in a dry place away
from heat. The DNA sample should be good for up to six or seven years.
Action
If you believe your child is missing, it is critical that you act immediately.
If your child is missing from home, search the home checking closets,
piles of laundry, in and under beds, inside large appliances, and in
vehicles including trunks—wherever a child could crawl into or
hide and possibly be asleep or not able to get out. Check with your neighbors
and friends of your child. If you still cannot find your child, immediately
call your local law-enforcement agency.
If your child disappears when you are away from home—on a shopping
trip, for example— notify the store manager or the
security office and ask for assistance in finding your child. Then immediately
call law enforcement. Many stores have initiated a plan of action
if a child is missing while shopping in their establishment, such as
Code ADAM, which was started by Wal-Mart® and is used
by retailers all over the country.
When you call law enforcement, try to stay calm. Identify yourself and
your location, and say, “Please send an officer; I want to report
a missing child.” You should give your child’s name; date
of birth; height; weight; and any unique identifiers such as eyeglasses,
pierced ears, or braces on the teeth. In addition you should tell them
when you noticed the disappearance, last saw your child, and what your
child was wearing. After you have reported your child missing to law
enforcement, listen to their instructions and respond to their questions.
Any significant and unexplained deviation from your child’s daily
routine should prompt a timely law-enforcement response. This response
may be expedited if any of these circumstances exist. Your child is:
- Younger than 13 years of age
- Mentally incapacitated or drug dependent
- A potential victim of foul play or with adults who could
endanger the child’s welfare
- Communicating with someone he or she has become acquainted
with via the Internet and has arranged to meet, in person,
with the individual
Request your child’s name and identifying information be immediately
entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Crime
Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File. This helps ensure any law
enforcement agency in the country will be able to identify your child if
he or she is found in another community.
Federal Missing Child Acts
The Missing Children Act of 1982 (28 U.S.C. § 534
(a)) enables families to guarantee information about their missing child
is properly entered into the FBI’s NCIC databases. If you have
doubts about whether the law-enforcement agency taking the missing-child
report has entered your child’s information, you have the right
to ask the FBI to verify the entry. If the case has not been entered,
ask the FBI to make the entry for you. You may also call the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children to verify your child’s
information was correctly entered into the NCIC databases.
The Missing Children Assistance Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. §§ 5771
et seq. as amended) mandates the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) to
provide certain services including the establishment of a toll-free telephone
line to receive information about missing and sexually exploited children
and provision of assistance to families and law enforcement in the search
for missing children. The National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children serves as the national clearinghouse and resource center that
carries out these mandates on behalf of DoJ with funding and program
coordination provided by DoJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.
The National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990 (Pub.
L. No. 101-647) requires federal, state, and local law enforcement to
immediately enter reports of a missing child who is younger than 18 years
of age and unidentified persons into the NCIC, and work cooperatively
with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on these
difficult cases. It also eliminates any waiting period prior to entry
of this information into NCIC.
In addition the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (Pub. L. No. 109-248) enhances the Missing Children Act
of 1982 by mandating entry of information must be made by law enforcement
into NCIC’s
Missing Person File within two hours’ receipt
of a report of a missing or abducted child.
Please understand and exercise your rights as stipulated by these Acts.
How NCMEC May Help
After you have reported your child missing to local law enforcement,
call NCMEC’s toll-free telephone number 1-800-THE-LOST® (1-800-843-5678).
A Call Center Specialist will take information concerning your child,
a Case Manager may be able to follow-up with you and the law-enforcement
agency investigating the case, and NCMEC may be able to refer you to
a support group in your community that may also help.
Another resource is When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival
Guide (NCJ 204958). This book, written by searching parents and
published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
explains the role various agencies play in the search for a missing
child and features helpful checklists. Copies are available by calling
1-800-851-3420 or visiting www.ncjrs.org.
Copyright © 1985 and 2004 National Center
for Missing & Exploited Children. This project was supported by
Grant No. 2007-MC-CX-K001 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®, 1-800-THE-LOST®, and CyberTipline® are registered
service marks of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
NCMEC Order #17.
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