More Than 600 Children Missing In Ohio: Report

CLEVELAND, OH — Ohio had 19,902 children reported missing in 2016. Nearly all of the kids, 98 percent, were found safe, but two were discovered murdered and more than six hundred children remain missing throughout the Buckeye State, according to the 2016 Missing Children Clearinghouse report released Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Children make up the majority of the state's missing persons reports from last year. Overall, there were 25,047 reports of missing people in 2016. Of those, 19,902 were missing children, 10,569 of which were girls and 9,333 of which were boys. Authorities recovered 19,503 children safely.

A large number of minors are forced into sex trafficking, with the Clearinghouse report estimating that at least 1,000 minors are being forced to sell sex in Ohio alone. Nationally, some 100,000 minors are believed to be trapped in sex trafficking.

“A missing child is one of a parent’s worst fears,” DeWine said in a statement. “Fortunately, most children who are reported missing are returned safely in a short period of time. But in cases where children are still missing, we must never give up trying to find them.”

There were four documented cases of a child being abducted by a stranger in 2016. There were 24 attempts at child abduction by strangers last year. Fourteen of the targeted children were female, the other 10 were male. DeWine said the suspects were driving vehicles in 95 percent of the situations, and 42 percent of the incidents occurred while the children were walking to or from school.

The majority of those incidents, 71 percent, ended with the child running away unharmed, but 38 percent of the suspects tried to use physical force or a weapon to coerce the children into their vehicle. Another 51 percent of suspects tried to lure children away with the promise of a ride, and 15 percent promised a puppy or candy.

These attempts at child abduction led to six arrests, including one suspect who was implicated in six different abduction incident. That suspect also tried to steal a child out of her bedroom while she was sleeping.

Another 33 incidents of abduction were carried out by parents who didn't have custody of the child.

Currently, there are more than 600 children missing in Ohio. A list of missing persons in Ohio is available here.

The majority of missing children reports in 2016 were classified as runaways, children who left home without permission and were missing overnight. The age breakdown for missing children in Ohio is below.

• 0 to 5 years old – 149
• 6 to 12 years old – 1,153
• 13 to 17 years old – 18,600

You can read the full report by clicking here.

Photo from Shutterstock