Understanding the dangers of child abduction to keep your kids safe

Did you know that in the United States a child goes missing or is abducted every forty seconds? That is a startling statistic. According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), 840,279 adults and children went missing in 2001. Although the vast majority of these cases are resolved within hours, unfortunately not all cases have the same ending. Be prepared. One has to be ruthless in making sure the children are safe. It is not only strangers who kidnap children. It can be relatives and friends and acquaintances also. Maybe they have seen the children before and bank on the fact that the children will not pose a problem the next time they meet as they have met him. Here are some facts to make you think and prepare.


Family kidnapping, acquaintance kidnapping, stranger kidnapping

• Family kidnapping is mostly committed by parents, while acquaintance kidnapping is perpetrated for the sake of victimizing juveniles and teens. This happens mostly in a home environment. Stranger kidnapping has a toll of mainly females and are more often of a sexual and physical nature. This kind of abduction takes place outdoors most of the time and very likely will entail the use of a firearm.

• About 20 percent of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are not found alive. It is said that the first contact between the child and the kidnapper occurs within a quarter mile of the house.

• It is important to teach your children never ever to get into a stranger’s car; not even Uncle Billy’s car or Auntie Jane’s. Most kidnappers grab their victims on the street and push them into their vehicles. When coming and going from school your children have to walk together in a group; the more children, the better.

• Have your children report to you if they see a strange man lurking around the neighborhood and seems not to belong in the area. Don’t go up to him; just get home and tell your father.

• The safety of your kids starts in the home. Educate them on the dangers of talking to strangers and running off alone into the nearby woods.

• Another startling fact is that about 74 percent of abducted children are dead within three hours of the abduction.

Child abduction is a frequent worry for parents. Ensure your children’s safety by educating them and telling them not to get in a stranger’s car, not to talk to strangers, not to go with strangers looking for a lost dog – not even the milkman who brings the milk to his door. Also make sure that if you have an infant in a car seat and stop at the shop to pick up something, that you don’t leave the baby in the car; anything can happen.

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