We Protect America's Children

A child’s personality sometimes will have a lot to do with how you handle locating them if they are missing or fail to come home at an agreed upon time. Some children don’t have a clear sense of time; therefore they don’t realize how important punctuality is when it comes to their safety. Curiosity may lead some children to deviate from there normal routine. However, must children are very punctual, even when faced with distractions.

Before jumping to conclusions, assess each situation on a case by case bases and handle them according to what you find and the child’s past behavior. Young children who are more than 30 minutes late, with no contact, regardless of their personality, immediate action on your part is a must.

The following are some things we recommend for you to do in addition to calling the police if your child fails to come home:

Ø      Do your best to remain calm, being logical and methodical in your search to find your child will help you locate them quicker.

Ø     Try and retrace your child’s day. Call all of there friends to find out if they are with them or if they have seen them.

Ø      If they're late from school, call the school to see if they are holding after school events that you did not know about or if your child is being detained for some reason.

 Ø      Call other families whose children travel the same route or ride the same bus as your child and find out if their child is home yet and if so, dose their child know what is keeping your child.

Ø If your search turns up no reasonable explanation for your child not being home on time, call your local police and let them know your child may be missing, ask to have an officer come to your home. While awaiting the arrival of police, recall events your child may have told you about, but that you may have forgotten.

Ø     While waiting for the Police to arrive, try to recall all pertinent information about your child TODAY. Such as, where were they, and with whom! In which direction would they have been traveling to and from their destination! What were they wearing and carrying when they left your home that day! Have a list of friends and relatives ready for the officer.