THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 19, 1995 TAG: 9504190119
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
THE PHRASE ``missing children'' evokes images of have-you-seen-me photos on milk cartons, of legions of children spirited away by strangers.
In many cases though, parents know where their ``missing'' children are, or who has them.
Many such children have been taken by family members in custody disputes. Others are teenagers who've moved in with friends. Still others are kids whose parents don't want them anymore.
The missing-child scenario that parents fear most - children being taken away by strangers - is the exception.
A U.S. Department of Justice report, considered one of the most comprehensive studies on missing children, shows that of hundreds of thousands of missing-children cases across the country in 1988, only 200 to 300 involved children who were taken by strangers in threatening situations.
In contrast, it's much more likely for a child to get hurt in his own home, by his own family members. Consider that in the same year there were about 920,000 confirmed cases of child abuse in the nation.
As for ``missing'' kids, the most common type is the runaway. Most runaways come home within two days, and the majority of parents know where they've fled.
The Justice Department's study identified about 1.4 million children as missing some time during 1988. Only about 0.0002 percent were kidnapped by strangers:
Estimated number of children missing in the United States in 1988:
Runaways (includes children who left home without permission and stayed away overnight): 450,700.
Family abductions (includes situations where a family member took a child in violation of a custody agreement or failed to return a child at the end of a visit): 354,100.
Throwaways (includes abandoned children and those who ran away and their parents made no effort to get them back): 127,100.
Non-family abductions: 3,200 to 4,600 (figure includes 200 to 300 ``stereotypical kidnappings,'' in which a stranger takes a child in a threatening situation).
Other (includes cases where a child was missing for less than a day because of a mix-up on meeting time or arrangements): 438,200.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
KEYWORDS: MISSING CHILDREN by CNB