Kidnapping Statistics

Every 40 seconds in the United States, a child is reported missing or abducted. That translates to over 2,000 children per day (under 18 years of age) or 800,000 per year.

The rate of reported missing children in the United States is 11.4 per 1,000 (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002; National Crime Information Center)

Of the 800,000 children reported missing annually, approximately 69,000 are abducted:

Family members account for the majority of these reported cases (82 percent)
Non-family abductions account for 12,000 of these reported cases (18 percent)
Of non-family abductions, 37 percent are by a stranger

(Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

More than 1.3 million cases of caretaker-reported missing children incidents occur annually (18.8 per 1,000 children) (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

Of child victims of "stereotypical kidnappings, "40 percent are killed, 4 percent are never found, 71 percent are by a stranger and 29 percent are by a slight acquaintance." In 1999 there were over 115 "stereotypical kidnappings" of children in the United States (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

The average non-family perpetrator is a male (75 percent) and 67 percent are under the age of 29 (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

Most abductions occur within a quarter of a mile from the victim's home (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

Of non-family abductions, 32 percent take place on a street or in a car and 25 percent take place in a park or wooded area. The percentage of abducted children taken to another location totals 75 percent. These locations include: vehicle (45 percent), perpetrator's home (28 percent), building (13 percent) (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

In 46 percent of non-family abductions, the child was sexually assaulted. In 31 percent of the cases the child was physically assaulted. In 40 percent of the cases, the perpetrator used a weapon (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

More than 65 percent of the victims of non-family child abduction are girls (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002)

Of abducted children who are ultimately murdered, 74 percent are dead within three hours of the abduction (State of Washington's Office of the Attorney General; National Center of Missing and Exploited Children)

In a 1998 study of parents' worries by pediatricians, nearly three-quarters of parents said they feared their children might be abducted. One-third of parents said this was a frequent worry--a degree of fear greater than that held for any other concern, including car accidents, sports injuries, or drug addiction (Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota)

More Statistics

About one child is slain per 10,000 missing child reports. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept.
In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept.
Most strangers grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept.
About 74% of the victims of nonfamily child abduction are girls. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept.
There are about 5700 active cases carried in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's computerized files - Smithsonian, Oct. 95.
In 1988 there were as many as 114,600 attempted abductions of children by non-family members, 4,600 abductions by non-family members reported to police, and 300 abductions by non-family members where the children were gone for long periods of time or were murdered. There were as many as 354,000 children abducted by family members, 450,700 children who ran away, 127,100 children who were thrown away, and 438,200 children who were lost, injured or otherwise missing. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept.
Each year 3,600 to 4,200 children are abducted by someone outside the family; 1/2 of them are age 12 or older; 2/3 are female; at least 19% of these abductors are not strangers to their victims-Finklehor, p. 10. *The chance of a minor being kidnapped by a stranger is 1 in 560, by a family member 1 in 180. - Discover Magazine as reported by Gannett News Service 5/28/96.
In a recent study of parents' worries by pediatricians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, nearly 3/4 of parents said they feared their children might be abducted. 1/3 of parents said this was a frequent worry-a degree of fear greater than that held for any other concern, including car accidents, sports injuries, or drug addiction. - Redbook, February 1998
More than 1/5 of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nonfamily abductions are found dead. - Smithsonian, Oct. 95.
More than 750,000 children were reported to police and entered into the FBI's national crime computer in 1993-more than 2,000 missing children a day. - Associated Press, 9/8/94.

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	Kidnapping Statistics Every 40 seconds in the United States, a child is reported missing or abducted. That translates to over 2,000 children per day (under 18 years of age) or 800,000 per year. The rate of reported missing children in the United States is 11.4 per 1,000 (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002; National Crime Information Center) Of the 800,000 children reported missing annually, approximately 69,000 are abducted: Family members account for the majority of these reported cases (82 percent) Non-family abductions account for 12,000 of these reported cases (18 percent) Of non-family abductions, 37 percent are by a stranger (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) More than 1.3 million cases of caretaker-reported missing children incidents occur annually (18.8 per 1,000 children) (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) Of child victims of "stereotypical kidnappings, "40 percent are killed, 4 percent are never found, 71 percent are by a stranger and 29 percent are by a slight acquaintance." In 1999 there were over 115 "stereotypical kidnappings" of children in the United States (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) The average non-family perpetrator is a male (75 percent) and 67 percent are under the age of 29 (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) Most abductions occur within a quarter of a mile from the victim's home (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) Of non-family abductions, 32 percent take place on a street or in a car and 25 percent take place in a park or wooded area. The percentage of abducted children taken to another location totals 75 percent. These locations include: vehicle (45 percent), perpetrator's home (28 percent), building (13 percent) (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) In 46 percent of non-family abductions, the child was sexually assaulted. In 31 percent of the cases the child was physically assaulted. In 40 percent of the cases, the perpetrator used a weapon (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) More than 65 percent of the victims of non-family child abduction are girls (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002) Of abducted children who are ultimately murdered, 74 percent are dead within three hours of the abduction (State of Washington's Office of the Attorney General; National Center of Missing and Exploited Children) In a 1998 study of parents' worries by pediatricians, nearly three-quarters of parents said they feared their children might be abducted. One-third of parents said this was a frequent worry--a degree of fear greater than that held for any other concern, including car accidents, sports injuries, or drug addiction (Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota) More Statistics About one child is slain per 10,000 missing child reports. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept. In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept. Most strangers grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept. About 74% of the victims of nonfamily child abduction are girls. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept. There are about 5700 active cases carried in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's computerized files - Smithsonian, Oct. 95. In 1988 there were as many as 114,600 attempted abductions of children by non-family members, 4,600 abductions by non-family members reported to police, and 300 abductions by non-family members where the children were gone for long periods of time or were murdered. There were as many as 354,000 children abducted by family members, 450,700 children who ran away, 127,100 children who were thrown away, and 438,200 children who were lost, injured or otherwise missing. - 1990 U.S. Justice Dept. Each year 3,600 to 4,200 children are abducted by someone outside the family; 1/2 of them are age 12 or older; 2/3 are female; at least 19% of these abductors are not strangers to their victims-Finklehor, p. 10. The chance of a minor being kidnapped by a stranger is 1 in 560, by a family member 1 in 180. - Discover Magazine as reported by Gannett News Service 5/28/96. In a recent study of parents' worries by pediatricians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, nearly 3/4 of parents said they feared their children might be abducted. 1/3 of parents said this was a frequent worry-a degree of fear greater than that held for any other concern, including car accidents, sports injuries, or drug addiction. - Redbook, February 1998 More than 1/5 of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nonfamily abductions are found dead. - Smithsonian, Oct. 95. More than 750,000 children were reported to police and entered into the FBI's national crime computer in 1993-more than 2,000 missing children a day. - Associated Press, 9/8/94. GIVE YOUR KIDS A FIGHTING CHANCE* ORDER TODAY!
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