SONORA POLICE DEPARTMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR
MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN HOSTS TAKE 25 EVENT TO COMMEMORATE
NATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN’S DAY
Sonora – The National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children® (NCMEC), in partnership with the Sonora Police Department,
will be observing National Missing Children’s Day this year by
participating in the national Take 25 child safety campaign.
May 25 has been observed as National Missing Children’s Day since it was
first recognized in 1983. National Missing Children’s Day serves as an
annual reminder that there are thousands of children who are still
missing and stresses the importance of making child protection a
national priority. The Take 25 campaign is a national child safety
public awareness campaign created in 2007 by the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children. The campaign encourages parents to
take 25 minutes to talk to their children about safety and ways to
prevent abduction. The campaign begins on May 1 and continues through
May 25 every year in communities throughout the country.
“Every day we hear stories about children who escaped a
would-be-abductor because someone talked to them about what they should
do in that type of situation”, said CEO John Ryan.
Chief Stinson said, “Education and open communication are key to
keeping children safer. Take 25 minutes and talk to your child, as this
could be the most important 25 minutes of their life.”
Every year in America, an estimated 800,000 children are reported
missing. Of that number, it is estimated that 200,000 are abducted by
family members and approximately 58,000 are abducted by non-family
members. Each year, it is estimated that 115 children are the victims of
the most serious abductions; they are taken by non-family members and
either murdered, ransomed or taken with the intent to keep.
An analysis of attempted abduction cases by NCMEC found that in 84%
of cases, the child escaped would-be abductors through their own
actions. Teaching children about safety works. It saves lives.
