Nonfamily Child Abductions

A nonfamily abduction occurs when a nonfamily perpetrator takes a child by the use of physical force or threat of bodily harm or detains a child for at least 1 hour in an isolated place by the use of physical force or threat of bodily harm without lawful authority or parental permission; or when a child whois younger than 15 years old or is mentally incompetent, with-out lawful authority or parental permission, is taken or detained by or voluntarily accompanies a nonfamily perpetrator who conceals the child’s whereabouts, demands ransom, or expresses the intention to keep the child permanently.

Stranger kidnapping victimizes more females than males, occurs primarily at outdoor locations, victimizes both teenagers and school-age children, is associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims (although not exclusively so), and is the type of kidnapping most likely to involve the use of a firearm.

Only about one child out of each 10,000 missing children reported to the local police is not found alive. However, about 20 percent of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nonfamily abductions are not found alive.

In 80 percent of abductions by strangers, the first contact between the child and the abductor occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home.

Most potential abductors grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles. About 74 percent of the victims of nonfamily child abduction are girls.

https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/stranger-safety/child-abduction-facts/
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/196465.pdf