Missing Children

Although nonfamily abductions are relatively rare, they are the worst fear of most relatives of children. Long-term nonfamily abductions are typically motivated by sexual gratification, retribution, financial gain, desire to kill, and maternal desire. Sexually motivated abductions represent the most common type of nonfamily abduction and pose the highest risk of victim mortality (Lord, Boudreaux, and Lanning 2001).

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States reports that most abductors tend to be white males between the ages of twenty and forty. They are loners who have difficulty interacting with adults and tend not to be married (Stepp 1994). For example, a former Long Island policeman who trains police officers for NCMEC says the typical kidnapper is a twenty-seven-year-old white male, a transient construction worker or day laborer with marginal social skills, often the "guy next door" (Ragavan 2001).

Examining the profile of the victims reveals that nearly 60 percent are juveniles, and 55 percent are female (Ragavan 2001). Due to their physical, emotional, and cognitive dependence on adults, children remain uniquely susceptible to abuse, neglect, and exploitation, which makes them vulnerable to a variety of offenders who may abuse and exploit them for such reasons as sex, revenge, and/or profit (Lord, Boudreaux, and Lanning 2001). Girls and adolescents twelve and older are more vulnerable than boys and young children (Stepp 1994).

Research (Lord, Boudreaux, and Lanning 2001) supports the following child abduction typologies by age:

Newborn (birth to one month) abductions take two forms. The first, maternal desire abduction, generally involves a female stranger abducting a young victim to rear as her own. These abductions usually occur at a hospital that the perpetrator has repeatedly walked through. She usually fakes a pregnancy to prepare others for the baby's sudden appearance. Therefore, the race of the victim must match that of the abductor. The second type of infant abduction, emotion-based abduction, usually results from anger, frustration, revenge, or retribution. The biological mother, the most frequent offender, may seek revenge on the other parent by abducting the child. The abduction often hides the death of the child—usually disposed of close to home.

Infants (1–12 months) comprise the second category of child abduction. Maternal desire abductions become less frequent, as a two-month-old infant is more likely to draw the attention of outsiders to the actual age of the baby. Most of these abductions are emotion based. Males face a higher risk of victimization, and males, usually the biological father, are the perpetrators in these A bulletin board at a police station in Haight Ashbury in 1967, filled with pictures of missing juveniles sent by parents worried that their children were "flower children" living on the streets of San Francisco. BETTMANN/CORBIS cases. These abductions usually result in the death of the child, usually on impulse, and the body of the child is disposed of close to home in a familiar, yet private, area of the family's property.

Preschool children (3–5 years) comprise the third category. Preschoolers are not always in parental view because of their increased mobility. Sexual crimes are one of the causes of abductions usually by strangers or acquaintances, not by parents. The victims are usually female, and the race of the child and abductor usually match the local demographics. The preschool child is usually abducted from their yard by a male who is an acquaintance of the victim, commonly a neighbor with a history of sexual misconduct. Profit based offenses—drug related or ransom—involving preschool children are rare. Some are emotion based, usually involving the father or boyfriend. When the offender kills the child, the body is usually found within a hundred yards of the home.

Elementary and middle-school children (6–14 years) constitute the fourth category. Victimization rates triple for this age, and school-age females are at least three times more likely than males to be abducted and murdered. Sex is the major reason for abduction, usually by a male perpetrator with a history of sexual misconduct, violence, and substance abuse. The abductor may be an acquaintance or a stranger but rarely a family member. With middle-school children, the abductors are mostly likely to be strangers. Schoolyard access, physical maturity, and vulnerability help facilitate these abductions by strangers. Unlike familial abductions, the bodies of these children are usually found unconcealed or only slightly covered.

High school children and older teens (15–17 years) comprise the final category. Profit- and emotion-based offenses are more prevalent in this group, perhaps due to the possession of money or other valuables, as well as an increase in the availability of drugs. Profit-based abduction usually victimizes males and involves the sale and distribution of drugs. Emotion-based crimes are similar to domestic violence and typically involve teenage females abused by boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, or stalkers. Sexually motivated crimes involve a female victim and a male offender—usually either a stranger or an acquaintance of the victim—who abducts the victim in a public area away from the victim's home. When murdered, the victim's remains are usually found within five miles of the home, slightly covered or not covered at all (Lord, Boudreaux, and Lanning 2001).