Child Abduction - Parental
What are you going to do if it happens to you?
By Rich
Brennan
Important steps you should take if your child or children are victims of
parental abduction:
Immediately contact the police and file a child missing & abduction report. Make sure
that you have current photos of your child/children and all of the information such as
date of birth, social security number, physical description, school information, places
you like to frequent, places your child likes to eat and or play, and any other pertinent
facts that will help the police in their search. Make sure you get a copy of that initial
police report. This is very important.
Contact the District Attorney's office which may have a child abduction unit. If they do
not, then talk with any investigator at the D.A.'s office.
Request that the police take all of your child's information and enter it into the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The missing Children's Act of 1982 instructs law
enforcement and allows missing children to be entered into this system. Request that it be
done nationwide.
If your child is a victim of parental abduction make sure to have all of your custody
papers in order and if you do not have custody, go through the appropriate legal channels
to do so immediately.
Immediately begin to keep a log and diary of all and any activity that happens and
transpires. Documentation is very important from the very beginning.
Make sure that the reporting police agency issues a warrant and get a copy of it. It would
either be a felony warrant on a state level or, in a federal situation, it would be a UFAP
warrant which is Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.
Contact any and all of the non-profit missing children entities and agencies. You can go
to any major search engine and enter the words "missing children agencies" or
just "missing children," then begin your
search. Even if there are some in your state, contact all of the national ones as well.
They will also help you in processing information on getting the word out, plus they will
gladly assist in helping with a flyer or poster.
Make contact with your State Clearinghouse for Missing Children (usually the State Highway
Patrol/Police) and get a copy of the police report to them as well, while asking them for
assistance.
Telephone and interview all relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers, pastors, ministers,
priests, Rabbis, Sensei, coworkers, and bosses of the abductor.
Report anything important to the police.
Find out from the abductor's employer if and where the last paycheck was mailed and what
address was used and also find out if there have been any inquiries for job references.
Find out from the abductor's bank or credit union to see if accounts have been closed or
transferred.
Make inquiries of the appropriate credit card companies into the abductor's credit card
accounts.
Inquire at the Post Office to see if mail is being forwarded.
Contact the local phone company, pager company, and cellular phone company to see if any
changes have taken place. And request any help that you can from cellular phone companies
to put tracers on the phone as to from where the calls are being made.
It is very important to go to your child's school with a copy of the police report and a
letter requesting a flag on your child's school records if, for example, another school
requests records on your child from the old school.
Send a letter to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, which keeps birth records, and ask to be
notified if anyone requests a copy of the child's birth certificate. Make sure you have a
certified copy yourself.
Send a letter to your child's doctor and dentist asking to be notified if anyone requests
their records for your child.
Contact car rental agencies to see if a car has been rented to leave the area.
Make inquiries of and notify the airlines, airport police, train stations, and bus
stations that your child is missing and make sure they have some photos.
Contact travelers check companies to see if the abductor has purchased travelers checks
and in a letter ask to be notified as to the dates and places the checks are cashed.
Inquire at the Motor Vehicle bureau to see if any vehicles have transferred ownership or
been sold or if there is a new license for the abductor or a possible alias or if there is
a request from another state to issue a license. BE MOST CAREFUL with this avenue. Most
states will notify the party that an inquiry was made. Before you make the inquiry check
to see what their procedures are.
Inquire as to who the legal owners are of the vehicles registered to the abductor. Call
them and ask for a current address or from where payments are being made.
IMMEDIATELY stop issuance of a passport for your child. Call the office of Citizenship
Appeals and Legal Assistance, Passport Advisory Services and Legal Division, Department of
State - Telephone
202-955-0232 for instructions.
Contact and make inquires with utilities companies in the area where the abductor may be.
Have posters and flyers of your child made and get them out -- everywhere. The non-profit
child find organizations usually will be very helpful in providing format, computer
services, graphic services and even printing in some instances. You can always solicit the
help a local printer.
Make sure you are documenting everything and make sure your child's name gets on NCIC.
Contact and advise RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to the north and U.S. Border
Patrol to the south about the incident and furnish them with posters, flyers, etc.
Have a website designed and put up for your child. Go to a local Internet Service Provider
(ISP) and/or to an Internet design company to assist in putting your child's photo(s) and
details before the millions of people who have computers.
NOTE: CAF will provide this service for you.
Build a profile of the abductor in an attempt to remember habits, problems, addictions,
hangouts; etc.
Make sure, once again, that you are keeping a document of everything that you have done
and everything that you are doing ... a combination diary and documentation file.
NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!
If you have any questions,
email Rich Brennan at crimshak@gte.net
