(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today issued the 2024 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report in recognition of National Missing Children’s Day, which occurs annually on May 25.
“Every missing person is someone to somebody – a child, sibling, loved one or friend,” Yost said. “I am proud of the dedication shown by Ohio law enforcement to keep Ohio’s children safe and commit that my office will continue to do everything in its power to support that mission.”
Last year, according to the report, 21,342 people were reported missing in Ohio, 1,032 fewer than the previous year. Of the total, 16,404 were missing children, 1,001 fewer than in 2023. Encouragingly, 96.5% of the reported missing children — or 15,834 — were recovered safely by year’s end. Three of the children were found deceased, the report says.
The Clearinghouse Report stems from a coordinated effort between local law enforcement agencies and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), operated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The NCIC maintains a database of missing person information and criminal information based on information provided by local law enforcement agencies. When a child goes missing, law enforcement agencies create a missing person report and enter data from that report into the NCIC database. Once a child is found, the case is updated in the NCIC database, and the missing person report is closed.
The cumulative yearly data for Ohio is provided by the NCIC to BCI for the Clearinghouse Report, which is used to raise awareness about Ohio’s missing children.
According to the 2024 report, Ohio last year had:
- 8,415 runaway cases involving children who left home without permission.
- 37 cases involving abductions by noncustodial parents.
- Nine cases involving abductions by strangers.
Also last year, Ohio issued:
- 13 AMBER Alerts involving 15 children. Fourteen were recovered safely; one was found deceased.
- 17 Endangered Missing Child Alerts involving 18 children. Seventeen were recovered safely; one was found deceased.
A full copy of the 2024 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report is available
here.
BCI Missing Persons Day Event
Families with missing loved ones gathered with law enforcement officers, advocates and community members on May 17 for Ohio’s Missing Persons Day, an awareness event hosted by BCI.
The annual event, which this year took place at Wright State University, raises awareness about missing person cases throughout Ohio and offers support to family members and others who are affected.
BCI’s Missing Persons Unit, part of the bureau’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, provides vital assistance to families and local law enforcement agencies working to locate missing children and adults. Among other responsibilities, the unit coordinates the issuance of Endangered Missing Child Alerts and Endangered Missing Adult Alerts.
Training
To further bolster outreach and educational opportunities to law enforcement on this topic, the attorney general’s Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy recently unveiled a new video training for peace officers that explains their responsibilities when a child is reported missing and identifies tools available for additional assistance. The training is part of a “roll-call refresher” series intended to provide short instructional videos for officers.
View an excerpt here:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Steve Irwin: 614-728-5417
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