COLUMBUS – Of the more than 15,000 children who were reported missing in Ohio last year, 96% were recovered safely by year’s end, according to an annual report from the state attorney-general’s office.
Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report is released to coincide with National Missing Children’s Day, which is observed on May 25.
The clearinghouse says 20,617 people were reported missing in Ohio in 2022. That is an increase of 1,603 from the year before.
Among those reports, 15,555 were reports of missing children, including 8,224 females and 7,331 males.
Authorities reported a total of 14,940 children were recovered safely by year’s end, but cited data that showed that four children reported missing were found deceased in 2022.
There were five cases of abduction by a stranger and 11 AMBER Alerts were issued, as well as four Endangered Missing Child Alerts, all of which resulted in the recovery of the children involved were issued.
Among the reports of missing children there were 8,525 cases involving a runaway, where a child left a home without permission and stays away overnight, and 34 cases involving abduction arising from a custody dispute.
As part of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, the Missing Persons Unit coordinates resources, facilitates rapid responses to missing person cases and provides immediate access to important investigative tools to recover missing persons in Ohio.