By Marc Courtiol
It is one of every parent�s worse nightmares. You take youreye off your child for a minute only to find her gone when you turn around. Orone day he does not get home from school at the normal time. Or she goesoutside to play and does not come back in. Scenarios like these are fortunatelyuncommon, and when they do happen there is usually a good explanation, and itis usually pretty easy to find the temporarily missing child. But what aboutthose very rare cases where the child is not easily found?
If this should happen to you, your first instinct may be topanic. Any parent would. But it is important to keep a level head, thinkrationally, and do what needs to be done. Should the unthinkable happen and youcannot find your child, here is what you need to do.
Step 1: Someone who knows the child should be out activelylooking while you are going through the first few steps of the process. If youwish to be the one out looking, have someone else go through these steps onyour behalf. Ideally, multiple people should be out looking-at least one personon foot around where the child went missing, and at least one other personsearching the surrounding area via car. But make sure someone is always athome.
Step 2: If there was ever an emergency, this is it. Pick upthe phone and dial 911. Do not worry-they will not dismiss you or tell you yourcase is not an emergency. Calmly inform them of how long your child has beenmissing, and give them all the relevant information they need. They will likelyask take you through a process that involves a series of questions about yourchild�s age, appearance, clothing, and last known whereabouts. If you do notfeel your call is being treated seriously enough, ask to speak to someone incharge.
Step 3: Notify other authorities of the missing child. Your911 call will get the ball rolling on some crucial aspects of theinvestigation, and they may tell you that you do not need to call anyone else.But just to cover all bases, call the local police as well as any other policedepartments whose jurisdiction covers the area where your child went missing.You might also get in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Each ofthese resources should have a process for dealing with missing children.
Step 4: Notify local media. Many local news sources arealways willing to help out in cases like this by sending out alerts andnotifying their viewers and readers to be on the lookout.
Step 5: Contact organizations devoted to finding missingchildren. A great place to start is the National Centerfor Missing and Exploiting Children, and you may be able to locate nonprofitsin your area with expertise in helping out in this kind of situation.
Step 6: Ask for help from those around you. This is going tobe a difficult time for you. And even if your child comes home safely very soonyou are likely to suffer frayed nerves for a while. Get in touch with anyonewho you think would be able and willing to drop everything and help you. And ifyou do not have any close friends or family nearby, ask neighbors. Insituations like these, most people are willing to lend a hand, even if they donot know you.
Step 7: Follow up on everything. If you feel the lawenforcement agencies are taking too long to investigate your case or get backto you, do not be afraid to call and visit them multiple times. Meanwhile, keeptaking matters into your own hands. Keep searching actively and calling aroundto anyone who might know something. Do not give up hope. Despite allfrightening stories we hear on the news, keep in mind that the vast majority ofmissing-child cases have happy endings.
About Marc Courtiol: Marc Courtiol is an accomplished healthresearcher in the field of natural wellness. A graduate from Cornell, Marc is acontributing author for several online journalsites and believes in the many uses of gripe water.
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