When Your
Child Is Missing
After the First 48 Hours: The Long-Term Search
Develop a plan and set a schedule with goals for continuing the search for your child.
Work with law enforcement to figure out what role you and others can play in the long-term search. This Guide can help, especially chapters 3 (The Media) and 4 (Photo and Flier Distribution).
Schedule regular visits with your investigator. Set up a schedule for you and your investigator to review the status of the investigation and to give each other updates. However, if you have new, important information, make sure that you give it to law enforcement as soon as possible. Ask your law enforcement agency about using the services of Team Adam to assist with the ongoing investigation.
Ask to see your child’s case file periodically.
You may recognize something meaningful that was overlooked or remember something significant that law enforcement was not aware of. Be aware that there may be pieces of information that law enforcement cannot—or does not want to—release to you because it may jeopardize or hinder the investigation. This is okay. Some states do not allow the release of police reports until a case is closed. Ask your search coordinator what information can be legally released to you or what you are allowed to see.
Keep a spiral notebook with you to record your thoughts and review it periodically.
When you reread your notebook or journal, you may find a passage that triggers a new idea or reminds you of something you had previously forgotten. Advise law enforcement about any new thoughts you have about the disappearance of your child.
Consider offering a reward for the safe return of your child.
Chapter 6 contains specific information on the reward offer.
Find out what Crime Stoppers can do to help with the search.
Crime Stoppers answers telephone calls 24 hours a day, knows how to take tip information, promises anonymity to callers, and maintains a good working relationship with law enforcement. If you like, ask to attend one of their meetings. If they agree, their telephone number may be a good choice for calls about a reward, because NCMEC will not provide reward information on its toll-free line.
Inquire about other programs that can be used for crime tips and rewards.
Talk with your law enforcement agency and prosecutor’s office to see if they know of other local, state, regional, or national programs that can be used to report crime tips or offer rewards.
Contact NCMEC, the state missing children’s clearinghouses in the 50 states, and other missing children’s organizations across the country.
Ask for assistance with distribution of posters and fliers. Ask each agency what types of services it has available to assist with the search. Addresses and phone numbers for the missing children’s clearinghouses in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Puerto Rico are listed in the Additional Resources section of this Guide. Some parents create a Web site to gather information on potential leads. Talk to your law enforcement agency about this and ask for its input. Use only screened and trusted volunteers to manage the Web site.
Keep community awareness of your plight at a high level.
If your child has been missing for several years, ask NCMEC to develop an age-progressed picture, then place this picture next to the original picture on shirts, buttons, and posters. Chapter 4 contains sample fliers you can use as models for your own fliers. Also, if there is new information about your child—such as a sighting or an interesting lead—make sure that the public is kept informed. But before you disclose any information, be sure to consult with your law enforcement contact so the investigation is not compromised.
Keep the media interested and involved.
Chapter 3 contains ideas for keeping the media interested in your story.
Make a list of things that others can do to help.
As long as you have specific tasks for for volunteers to perform, they won’t go away.
http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/204958/ch1.html#ch1-4
