Child Abduction in the United States

Child Abduction in the United States

It is every parent's worst nightmare. It could occur in your front yard, in front

of the school, in your house, in a store, or anywhere. Just imagine you're in your

favorite department store not but a mile away from your home and you lose sight of your

child. You look down the aisles, have your child paged, and check out at your car all to

no avail. This is exactly what happened with Reve Walsh, mother of young Adam

Walsh. This is her account of what happened from the book, Tears of Rage, written by

John Walsh and posted on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

website.

Adam and his mother went to the store to shop for lamps. The store was about one

mile from their home. They parked the car where they always did. Holding hands, they

crossed the parking lot to the north entrance, the same as always. That put them in the toy

department. Right in the middle of the toys was the big attraction: a television monitor

displaying computer video games. They were brand new back then. Several children were

playing with the game, and Adam asked if he could stay and play also. Revé said okay

and told him to stay there until she returned from the lamp department. The lamps were

about 75 feet away--out of sight, but not very far. The lamps were out of stock, so Revé

left her name and number. She was gone about seven minutes.

Adam was not at the video game when Revé returned. Revé walked down several

aisles calling out Adam's name. She realized that not only was Adam gone, but all the

children were gone, and the video was silent. Revé spotted a boy about Adam's age

wearing the...

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...ponsible for all information on missing children from that state or believed to be in

that state. The program is designed to collect, store, and disseminate information on

missing children. The Clearinghouse provides liaison among citizens, private

organizations, and law enforcement agencies regarding missing children information.

They are also responsible for the amber alert system in their state. In most states the

missing children's clearinghouse is ran by the state police or highway patrol. Information

and packets are then distributed as necessary to local authorities and federal authorities as

needed.

As you can see, in the United States we have come a long way in trying to protect

our children. Cooperation on every level from federal to state to local right down to the

parents is essential to help protect our children.