Missing in europe: one child, every two minutes, euronews

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On May 25, 1979, the then six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared without a trace in the Soho district of New York. He was commemorated four years later International Children’s Day introduced, which has been committed in Europe since 2001.

The aim of the day is to remember missing children and to support and give hope to those who miss a child.

The symbol of the day is the flower of forget-me-not.

facts and figures

According to the European Commission, will be in Europe missing a child every two minutes reported. This corresponds to 250,000 children a year.

The cases of missing children are divided into different categories, including kidnapping by parents, runaways, underage migrants who are unaccompanied and criminal kidnapping.

In Great Britain, with a population of 61 million, 140,000 missing cases are reported annually, which corresponds to 383 children per day.

In Belgium, with a population of 10.5 million, Missing Children Europe reports an average of 4 children missing per day.

In the United States In 2014, a total of 466,949 entries were made for missing children under the age of 18.

According to the German Federal Criminal Police Office, minors are missing in the Federal Republic of Germany, "if they have left their habitual life and their stay (the legal guardian) is unknown".

Become 100,000 each year Children in Germany reported missing – in more than 99 percent of the cases, the children are safe and can be found again after a short time.

According to the Missing Children Europe 2014 annual report, however, there are only 2 to 5 percent of reported missing cases Third party involvement.

Are much more common Runaway: Around 50 percent of the minors reported missing run away from home. According to the organization "The Children’s Society", runaways are particularly at risk: they often sleep on the street, become criminals to get money and are at high risk of being abused.

International hotline: 116000

There is a uniform hotline for missing children across Europe. The number 116000 is available around the clock (24/7) free of charge from all networks. This hotline provides advice and help in the event of missing persons in all EU member states (except Finland).