Missing Children 

Missing Children Epidemic Child abduction cases are something that many people talk about because it is a major concern for most parents. One way to solve this epidemic of missing children is to inform more people about the dangers, warning signs, and general information on child abduction. The missing children epidemic is something that needs to be addressed more commonly by parents of young children. This is an incredible epidemic that is continuing on every single day, if more parents were informed of the dangers of kidnappings and how they happen it could change society for the better. One way to make sure that children don’t get kidnapped is to make them aware of their surroundings. A child that is unaware of their environment or is in an unfamiliar environment is easy targets for kidnappers or even human traffickers. The best way to prevent minors from these dangerous situations is to have parents talk to their kids about the dangers and risks of strangers and potential kidnappers. From a young age, kids should be aware of the “stranger danger” rule, and that they should never talk to or follow an adult they do not recognize. A newer method is to have a “safe word” with the child if an adult approaches a child have them ask the person for the safe word, if said person cannot recite the safe word the child knows this is not a trusted adult. The department of justice wrote an article for parents about kidnappings, a quote from the article states “The words “Missing Child” call to mind tragic and frightening kidnappings reported in the national news. But a child can be missing for many reasons, and the problem of missing children is far more complex than the headlines suggest” (U.S. Department of Justice). Kidnappings can be way more complex than just a simple taken child. There can be custody battles, misunderstandings, family disputes, and many other reasons. For example, most kidnappers are middle to older age men (Dowshen). This can also happen when the parent is not aware of where their child is. The best ways to prevent kidnappings are being aware of the conditions in which children get kidnapped, online safety, having all documents in order, and most importantly watching the children. The conditions where minors are most commonly kidnapped can vary from case to case but the most likely reason for a child to be kidnapped is another parent who does not have custody of the juvenile. They usually believe that the juvenile is not getting their needs met therefor they take it upon themselves to kidnap this child to take better care of the minor. Teaching online safety is also important, many teenagers and older kids in today’s day and age have a free range of the internet and many social media platforms. Many perverted men use social media to despise themselves as younger girls to gain the trust of young teenagers. One thing about online safety is not to take all online access from teenagers but to teach them how to tell if someone is dangerous on the internet and social media. Another thing to be weary of is posting the children online. Before a child gets kidnapped, they could be preyed on if there are many pictures of the minor on social media sites. The best way to avoid someone having picture of the juvenile is by avoiding posting them online to public accounts. There is a way to help children that are already kidnapped is to spread awareness of the child that has been taken. When a child is kidnapped most news sources recommend having them broadcast photos and videos of the child so people can be on the lookout for someone who could’ve taken them or the child. One big worry of most parents is strangers’ kidnappings their youngsters but in reality, most kidnappings happen with other family members. Only 25 percent of kidnappings happen by strangers. The other 75 percent happen by family members that do not have custody of the child (Kraut). This could be grandparents, biological mother or father, aunts or uncles, and siblings. One quote says from an article based on kidnapping says, “Children under the age of 6 are most frequently targeted for family abductions and these often occur amid bitter divorce or child custody battles between parents” (Kraut). A reason that family kidnappings are more common than stranger kidnapping is because the children usually are familiar with the perpetrator since they are family. This makes the children more likely to voluntarily go with this person. Young children who do not know that the person taking them could be dangerous are more vulnerable to being kidnapping. Children do not have their brains fully developed therefor they cannot comprehend the dangers of being kidnapped. There are various forms of media used to spread awareness for missing children, these include news broadcasts, articles, social media sites, and by word of mouth. In recent years, social media sites have been adequate for missing children to be found. Many people on a day-to-day basis will go onto social media sites more than turning on the news. One can also spread awareness through social media much faster than the news broadcast. People also tend to wonder why children get kidnapped in the first place, the main reason being through sex trafficking purposes. Every 40 seconds a child gets taken; this means up to 840,000 children go missing every year (Flores). These statistics are much higher than most would think. Some more statistics include that 81 percent of missing children are 12 years or olde (Flores). In about 40 percent of cases the child is killed (Flores). In only 4 percent the child is not recovered (Flores). One quotes from the health journal says “School-age children are at greatest risk on school days before and after school and after dinner time” (TheHealthyJournal.com). These times include 7am-9am, 3pm-4pm, and 6pm-7pm (TheHealthyJournal). This is interesting because if society is aware of these times, they could keep closer watch on their youngsters before and after school. These also could be the younger children left unattended when walking to and from school. Some famous kidnapping cases have helped to spread light and make the system for how the forces will help parents with kidnappings now. One example of a case that changed the system is Amber Hagerman. One quote from Family Minded says “In January 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in the parking lot of a grocery store in Arlington, Texas, when an unknown kidnapper snatched her and drove away with her in his pickup truck. Her body was found floating in a creek five days later” (Familyminded.com). Her story changed things because after she was found they created something call an AMBER alert. This stands for America’s missing: broadcast emergency response. When a child is kidnapped the government sends out alerts to the state for everyone to be on the lookout of the child or their perpetrator. This has helped many different kids be found through people being able to see the child if their kidnapper brings them out to the public. It is assumed that Amber might have been found if someone had known that she was kidnapped or what she looked like she might’ve been found faster or alive. Missing children are something that is scary for almost any parents especially with today's society but without the AMBER alert and new social media platforms to spread awareness these kidnapped children could have much less of a chance to be found. The new research on kidnappers and what they look like and which children they prey on has helped many parents to teach their kids on what to look for as well. Although this epidemic has not been stopped yet with new research it is headed into the right direction of being solved.