Local officials stress importance of first 72 hours in missing child cases

By Jenna Wilson

More than half a million children are reported missing in the U.S. each year, and while a majority of child abduction cases end with the child being recovered, each situation requires a fast effort from law enforcement.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol active missing persons records, out of 7,800 children who were reported missing in 2023, only 164 remained missing in that reported year.

So far, in 2024, 3,805 children have been reported missing and 347 of those children remain missing.

Sgt. Shane Hux with Troop H of the highway patrol said children have a 94% chance of being recovered if found in they are found within the first 72 hours.

“The first 72 hours of locating a missing child is very crucial,” Hux said. “There’s nothing more traumatic as a parent than to know that your child is not where they’re supposed to be; it’s a gut-wrenching feeling. As law enforcement, it’s our job to get involved and try to locate a child, especially within that 72-hour timeframe. That’s when we’re really pushing that information out in hopes of getting that child reunited with their family while there’s a good chance of safety.”

Law enforcement said one area of confusion when it comes to missing children is some being classified as “runaways” instead of missing children.

Though, according to Missouri laws, a missing person includes someone who has run away. State statute says a person is considered missing if they are “a child or juvenile runaway from the residence of a parent, legal guardian or custodian.”

“You never know the circumstances behind it,” Hux said. “If a child chooses to run away from their residence, there may be a reason behind that, but it’s still very important for law enforcement to take all of these calls seriously and work diligently on them. Our focus is making sure we find the child and get them reunited with their family safely no matter what.”

Amber Alerts are issued by law enforcement agencies in cooperation with the media only in circumstances of meeting the state Amber Alert criteria. A few of these criteria include having a reason to believe an abduction has occurred and belief that a child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

Officials said the internet is the leading source for child predators looking to take advantage of children, and parents should be actively monitoring what kids are doing online and who they’re engaging with.

“In this day and age that we live in, as a parent, you should know what your child’s doing online,” Hux said. “Know who they’re communicating with and what they are doing whenever it comes to social media, even when it comes to gaming. That’s another safety issue, especially related to children because there are predators out there 24/7 online looking to take advantage of innocent children.”

Area parents are also being cautioned to be vigilant of where their kids are wandering this time of year with Chiefs Training Camp coming up in St. Joseph.

“There are going to be lots of people there,” Hux said. “Whenever you go to an event like that, take a picture of your child before you go so we know what they’re wearing and what they look like that day. If something happens and you get separated from your party, you can show that to law enforcement to assist us with relocating those children safely.”