Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old average American girl, goes to school, dances, runs marathons, enjoys hanging out with family and having a good time.  She’s a little shy and reserved but she loves her family, loves her dog Molly and has a bright future ahead.  She recently was found safe after being missing for 88 days.  She had been kidnapped and held hostage in a man’s home, forced to lie under his bed for hours at a time.  A very well-known woman was also kidnapped when she was a young teen and held captive for 9 months when she was able to escape and be rescued.  Three women were also kidnapped a long time ago and held nearly 10 years in a basement before they were able to escape and be rescued.  There are other stories as well that have happier endings. Like a woman who was held for 18 years and then found safe.

We want to give these survivors a day, not to be reminded of what happened to them but to be reminded they are survivors, they are fighters, brave warriors.  While at the same time we’d like this “Abduction Survivors Awareness” day to give others hope.  Hope for the person who is being held captive that they too will find a way to escape or be rescued.  Hope for the family of missing persons, that they will see the happy ending stories and it will give them the ability to push forward.  The ability to get up every day and keep fighting to find their loved one.

As posted on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website, “According to the FBI, in 2018 there were 424,066 NCIC entries for missing children. In 2017, the total number of missing children entries into NCIC was 464,324.

This number represents reports of missing children. That means if a child runs away multiple times in a year, each instance would be entered into NCIC separately and counted in the yearly total. Likewise, if an entry is withdrawn and amended or updated, that would also be reflected in the total.”

In 2018 NCMEC assisted law enforcement and families with more than 25,000 cases of missing children.

Case type:

92 percent endangered runaways.
 4 percent family abductions.
 3 percent critically missing young adults, ages 18 to 20.
 Less than 1 percent nonfamily abductions.
 1 percent lost, injured or otherwise missing children.
Of the more than 23,500 runaways reported to NCMEC in 2018, one in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

Please help us make this happen for her, for the 3 girls found after 10 years, the girl found after 9 months in captivity and so, so many more...  They all deserve to be honored.