National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th each year…

National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th each year shines a spotlight on child safety. The observance also honors the professionals dedicated to protecting children around the country.

In 2020 National Center For Missing and Exploited Children assisted law enforcement and families with more than 29,800 cases of missing children, including endangered runaways, family abductions, critically missing young adults, ages 18 to 20, nonfamily abductions, and lost, injured, or otherwise missing children. Most children who go missing do come home. However, the fact remains, if it happens to any child, it happens to too many.

While the observance honors those who have gone above and beyond to protect children, it also offers resources to continue protecting them further. Here are ways to keep your children safe every day.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed National Missing Children’s Day recognizing the hundreds of thousands of children who went missing each year. Just a few short years before, six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from his New York City home on his way from the bus to school on May 25, 1979. The observance commemorated the date of Etan’s disappearance and honored missing children everywhere.