While there are no statistics on abductions initiated in chat rooms, the FBIs National Crime Information Center (NCIC) has the missing person statistics from 2001 and while they are lower than in recent years, events of recent weeks remind us they are significant.
Of the 840,279 missing persons reported to the police in 2001, the FBI estimates that 85 to 95 percent of them are juveniles. Translating percentages into real numbers, there were approximately 725,000 disappearances of children tat were reported to local police officials last year. That equates to 2000 American children becoming missing each day of the year,
The NCIC has three categories under which they file missing persons cases. They are:
- Juvenile - In 2001, this represented 651,209 cases. Most reported missing children fall into this category which includes disappearances in which there is no evidence of foul play.
- Endangered - There were 119,237 adult and juvenile missing person reports placed in this category last year. The definition of this category is missing and in the company of another person under circumstances indicating that his/her physical safety is in danger,
- Involuntary - 2001 saw 28,765 adult and juvenile missing person reports placed in this category. It is defined as missing under circumstances indicating the disappearance was involuntary, i.e. abduction or kidnapping.
While it is difficult to extrapolate these percentages into the number of children who have disappeared as a result of contact in chat rooms, the total cumulative number of children missing in America is staggering.
According to the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children, the total number missing in its five categories are as follows:
