COLUMBUS – The number of missing children in Ohio dropped by nearly a quarter during the first two years of the pandemic, according to an annual report from the state Missing Persons Clearinghouse.
The clearinghouse, which is part of attorney general Dave Yost’s office reported that over 19,014 people were reported missing in 2021, about 2,500 fewer than the year before, and of those, 14,027 were children. That represents a decline of almost 24.7% from the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report is released in recognition of National Missing Children’s Day, which occurs annually on May 25.
The Missing Persons Unit has a 24-hour toll-free hotline (800-325-5604)
Of the children reported missing in Ohio last year, 97% were recovered safely, but six were found dead, according to the report.
Nearly 60% of the missing children reports involved runaways where a child left home without permission and stayed away overnight, but there were also 62 cases of abduction, 11 of which involved a stranger.
The remainder involved abduction from a noncustodial parent, where a parent or another person acting on behalf of a parent “keeps or conceals a child depriving another individual of custody or visitation rights,” the report stated.
Law enforcement agencies issued 14 Amber Alerts, which resulted in the safe recovery of all the 16 children involved.