What do I do if I suspect my child is missing?
Well, it depends on the circumstances. The first thing you want to do is check around your house. The second thing you want to do is check with your child's friends and acquaintances. If the child has been to school you would probably want to check with the authorities there. If after making those cursory checks, you still believe that there's a problem, particularly escalating, if you think it is a grave problem, the first thing you want to do is call your local authorities, your local police. But you don't stop there. You also call the police chiefs or the agencies in the surrounding communities. You also call the county sheriff. You also call the state police. You also call the Federal Bureau of Investigation, simply because, if for no other reason, they have agents that are specifically trained in missing child situations. They also have resources that are absolutely unparalleled. Then you want to start calling media assignment desks around your community. Not necessarily so that they'll take action, but so that they'll know that if the word does come from the authorities that there's a parent there that's willing to talk to them about the child. You then want to start calling non-profit organizations. You want to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, although I don't believe they're nearly as important as they seem to believe they are. But probably more importantly would be any kind of local agencies that deal in that issue, because they're able to offer certain kinds of services. Perhaps a search service, perhaps put you in touch with a sympathetic reporter, perhaps help act as a liaison between a family and the local authorities, because when you find yourself in a situation where your child is missing, you are thrust into a world that you have absolutely no preparation for. So anybody that can help you through that maze is a welcome friend at that time.
