Missing children

In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted by a stranger on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe. Eighteen years later, the news of Dugard’s discovery, and the disturbing details of her years in captivity in the back yard of her alleged captor, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido, has once again brought the reality of stranger abduction into the national spotlight. While it’s understandable that the horrific nature of stranger abductions would capture the public’s attention, there are many more missing children who don’t make the news. In California, of the total 350,823 children reported missing between 2006 and 2008, only 122 were classified as stranger abductions. In Butte County, there hasn’t been a report of stranger abduction since 2001.

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Reports of missing children in Butte County 2006 2007 2008 Total reported 645 571 557 Runaway 610 520 516 Lost 0 7 2 Parent/family abduction 5 6 5 Suspicious circumstances 2 6 5 Unknown circumstances 23 32 27         Status of missing children in Butte County       Returned 392 333 309 Located 162 156 149 Deceased (found dead) 0 0 1 Arrests 10 9 14 Emancipated 1 0 2 Voluntary missing 0 3 0 Withdrawn/invalid 7 5 6 Other or unknown 39 39 34

Source: California Office of the Attorney General, www.ag.ca.gov/missing/stats.php