Every 40 seconds, a child in the United States goes missing or is abducted. Around 840,000 children are reported missing each year, with some indicating that 85 to 90 percent of these are children. While the majority of missing or abducted child cases are resolved within hours, there are a few incidents where a child is abducted permanently or for a lengthy period of time. Some of the most significant concerns about children who have gone missing or been kidnapped are listed below. Family kidnappings account for half of all abductions in the United States. When compared to other types of kidnapping, family abduction is more likely to be carried out by parents and involves a greater percentage of female criminals. Family abductions are most common among children under the age of six, and they usually happen when parents are going through a difficult divorce or child custody battle. Family abduction poses substantial hurdles for law enforcement because the child may be unwilling to leave his or her kidnapper, and other family members may be complicit in concealing and aiding the abducting parent. Non-family abductions include kidnappings by strangers and acquaintances. Affair abductions constitute for 27% of all child abductions, and they are committed by a disproportionately high number of adolescent criminals.
