In 2023, Knox County recorded 42 missing children reports, as per the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse. A total of 17,405 children were reported missing statewide last year.
According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, "Local law enforcement is the first defense when a child goes missing, and Ohio’s sheriff’s offices and police departments do a fantastic job reuniting missing kids with their families. Although we celebrate a 98% reunification rate, one missing child is one too many – BCI stands ready to assist." This statement was made in an Attorney General's Office press release.
Yost released the 2023 Missing Children Clearinghouse Report on the eve of National Missing Children's Day, which is commemorated annually on May 25th. The report revealed that there was an increase of 1,950 more children reported missing in 2023 compared to the previous year.
As per another press release from the Attorney General's Office, out of the children reported missing in 2023, a staggering 98%, (17,033), were safely recovered by year-end. However, open-source data disclosed that five missing children were found deceased within the same year.
The same press release further detailed that across Ohio, runaway incidents accounted for 9,649 of the missing children cases. These instances involved a child leaving home without permission and staying away overnight. Additionally, thirty-five cases entailed a noncustodial parent abducting a child - this could be a parent or another family member acting on behalf of a parent who keeps or conceals a child thereby depriving another person of custody or visitation rights. Fifteen cases pertained to abduction by strangers.
