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Missing Children Act

NCJ Number
93132
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1984) Pages: 17-20
Editor(s)
T J Deakin
Date Published
1984
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Missing Children Act greatly broadens the level of assistance the FBI can give in the investigation of a minor's disappearance.
Abstract
The Missing Children Act requires the Attorney General to seek information assisting in the location of any missing persons, including children. The Act also gives parents, guardians, or next of kin access to the information in the FBI National Crime Information Center's Missing Person File. Inquiries can be made with physical descriptors alone, but the possible inquiry route has been expanded through the creation of forms for detailed medical data on a missing person. Voluntary programs in which parents have their children fingerprinted further increase the depth of information available for entry and/or inquiry. The Act requires the FBI to check for data on missing children at the formal request of a parent, guardian, or next of kin. When a child is located, the FBI informs the concerned party and the investigating agency and advises them to contact the proper field office. But the FBI is not responsible for returning the individual to the concerned party. The Act has certain limitations: it gives no new investigative powers to the FBI, and does not cover the kidnapping of a child by a noncustodial parent, although under certain circumstances the FBI can enter parental kidnapping cases under the Fugitive Felony Act. When the child reaches the age of emancipation, both the fingerprint cards and the Missing Person Files are deleted from the active list. Local and State authorities remain the primary agents for handling missing children cases. Graphs indicate the change in missing person reports since the Act's passage. Two footnotes are included.