National Missing Children's Day Is May 25

News provided by

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

May 20, 2010, 09:00 ET

What Parents Can Do to Keep Children Safe

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every year in America an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing, more than 2,000 children each day. Of that number, 200,000 are abducted by family members, and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members. The primary motive for non-family abductions is sexual. Each year 115 children are the victims of the most serious abductions, taken by non-family members and either murdered, held for ransom, or taken with the intent to keep.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) wants to remind the public that National Missing Children's Day is May 25th. The organization wants parents to know there are things they can do to keep their children safe, and it urges parents to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about their safety. NCMEC has produced safety tips as a part of its Take 25 national child safety campaign.

"We know teaching children about safety works," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. "It is important that parents take the time to talk to their children about safety."

An analysis of attempted abduction cases by NCMEC found that in 84% of the cases, children escaped would-be abductors through their own actions, by yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention.

May 25th is the anniversary of the day in 1979 when 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from a New York street corner on his way to school and has been observed as National Missing Children's Day since 1983 when it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan. Etan's story captivated the nation. His photo, taken by his father, a professional photographer was circulated nationwide and appeared in media across the country and around the world. The powerful image of Etan has come to symbolize the anguish and trauma of thousands of searching families. The search for Etan continues. He is still missing.

NCMEC is the leading nonprofit organization dealing with the issues of missing and sexually exploited children and operates a 24-hour toll free national hotline for reporting missing child cases. NCMEC has played a role in the recovery of more than 151,000 children and today, more children come home safely than ever before. Last year alone we helped recover 13,075 children, improving our recovery rate from 62 percent in 1990 to 97.4 percent today. And more of those who prey upon children are being identified and prosecuted. Yet too many children are still missing and too many children are still the victims of sexual exploitation. There is much more that needs to be done.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline, which has handled more than 2,475,300 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 151,300 children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 868,200 reports of child sexual exploitation, and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 33,997,500 pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

SOURCE National Center for Missing & Exploited Children