missing children
Absent young ones
Missing children are minors whose whereabouts are unknown to their parents or guardians.
The term covers runaways, family abductions by non-custodial parents, and stranger kidnappings—though the last category, despite receiving the most media attention, accounts for a small fraction of cases.
Have you seen this child? appears on missing children posters and milk cartons, part of public awareness campaigns that began in the 1980s.
- runawayOne who flees
- abductionUnlawful seizure of person
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
- search partiesGroups organized to find someone
- law enforcementUpholding legal codes
exploitation · without a trace · survivor stories · kidnappings · amber alerts · forensic investigation · child protection laws · poster · have you seen · age progression · international treaties · media campaigns · trauma · custody agreements · cold case · grief · parental abduction · search
- missing personsdisappearance, vanished, vanishing, abductees, search party
- child safetychild safety, childproofing, car seats, seat belts, booster seats
- Indigenous CanadaFirst Nations, Metis, Inuit, Cree, Ojibwe
- Indigenous PolicyIndian Act, treaty negotiations, land claims, consultation, inherent rights
- family lossorphan, motherless, fatherless, parentless, abandonment
- homeless youthstreet kids, runaways, throwaways, homeless youth, unaccompanied minors