Keep your Children Safe
Dozens of Ohio children are reported missing to law enforcement any given day. Thankfully, most return to their families quickly and unharmed. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office provides these reminders for keeping your children safe:
- Teach your children their full name, address, and telephone number.
- Make sure they know your full name and how to reach you by cell phone or at work.
- Teach them how and when to call 911.
- Make sure your children always have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
- Instruct them to keep the door locked and not to open it to anyone when they are home alone.
- Discuss how they should answer the telephone when you’re away.
- Choose caregivers and babysitters with care. Seek referrals and check references. Drop in unexpectedly to see how things are going. Ask your children about their experiences.
- Make sure your children understand there is safety in numbers. When they are playing or walking to school or elsewhere, have them do so with friends.
Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office promotes measures to keep kids safe and assists law enforcement and families in missing children cases.
Through its Missing Persons Unit, the office:
- Issues Missing Child Alerts
- Works with law enforcement when AMBER Alerts are needed
- Maintains a toll-free hotline, 800-325-5604, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI)
- Provides resources to aid in searches at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/MissingPersons
- Uses social networking sites, public records, and law enforcement databases to help locate children
- Assists law enforcement and families
- Trains professionals and the public on missing persons issues
IF A LOVED ONE IS MISSING:
• Immediately file a report with law enforcement.
• Limit access to your home until investigators have the opportunity to collect evidence. Do not touch anything in the home.
• Give investigators all requested information, including a complete description, photos, facts related to the disappearance, social media accounts, cell phone number, and any other requested details.
• Be prepared to provide fingerprints, dental records, and DNA to help find your loved one.
For more information on the Missing Persons Unit, please contact Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/MissingPersons or 800-325-5604.