Every day children go missing – that’s a sad fact. Some are runaways who cannot stand life at home anymore due to abuse or some other factor; others are abducted against their will.
Missing Child image via Flickr
When a child is missing it is a harrowing time for the family, particularly if they are a loving unit.
In fact, life can be unbearable as we are all too aware of the nasty people out there who harm, maim and abuse children. Children are really at the mercy of the abductor and cannot do much to help themselves.
Child Slaves
There are organized rings of gangs that abduct children to sell in a slave trade (yes still it is that real) where they are sold either to the highest bidder, or sometimes to order.
Very often the children that are abducted are not returned to their family, as the tracks of the gang are very difficult to follow. This means they may be condemned to a life of misery, prostitution and drug use.
Sometimes children are murdered. This all makes for a gloomy picture, but there is often good news as some families are reunited.
Who Helps Find Missing Children?
By the same token, there are agencies that are set up specifically to track and locate missing children, so there is always some hope. In fact, there are also quite a few success stories too.
Funding
However, this kind of work requires a lot of funding. The Police or authorities have very few resources to spend on looking for missing children and they do as much as they can with the resources at their disposal.
Many Runaways Come Back
However, putting in a large amount of manpower is very costly when in fact not all cases are that serious, as a child may have intentionally run away to give their parents a good scare.
The Costs
This could have the potential of creating a bill of thousands of dollars in police time, and this can add up to be a very substantial amount in a very short space of time, and this is simply because most people care and will do all in their power when it comes to a missing child.
Sometimes A Charity Can Help
There are still a large percentage of cases where America’s Missing Children Fund can help.
These charity organizations give money to experts to allow them to do their job in locating missing children. This money is always stretched and can only go so far, which is why donations are always very welcome.
