National Missing Children's Day

The History of the May 25th National Missing Children's Day

Alyssa Ast
National Missing Children's Day's just around the corner. On May 25th the United States has commemorated the day as National Missing Children's Day. Although other day's like this are dedicated to finding missing children, May 25th in particular holds a special meaning, with a tragic history behind it.

The Start Of It

Back in the late 1970's and early 1980's, numerous high profiled missing children cases occurred, flooding the nations headlines. There were three cases in particular that plagued the newspapers. During this time, a harsh realization hit the nation at just how many children go missing and are victimized every day.

Etan Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979. While on his way to school one day, he vanished from a New York City street. A massive search for this young boy pursued with the media's assistance. This caused the reality that the nation lacked a firm child abduction plan and the issue needed to be addressed.

The issue became even more pressing as the bodies of young children began to turn up in Atlanta, Georgia over a three year time period. The bodies had been found in local marshes, ponds, and even along the sides of roads. In total, 29 bodies were recovered before the suspect was arrested.

Adam Walsh disappeared from a shopping mall in Florida on July 27, 1981. When his parents turned to law officials in the area for help, law officials informed them there was no plan set in place to find missing children. There had been no plan set in place to find missing children on either a local or federal level.

The Result

As the tragic cases of missing children over this time period began to increase, the reality of the severity of the issue began to take form. Lack of a firm plan to find missing children became an alarming concern. The nation was appalled that law officials had no efforts in place to find missing children.

In 1983, President Ronald Regan presented National Missing Children's Day to occur every May 25th. This day's spent honoring those children that have disappeared. It's also a day to renew the efforts of those trying to reunite missing children with their families. This day serves as an important reminder for parents to always prepare for the unexpected by keeping up to date photos of their children close on hand in case the worst should happen. It's a day to protect the children of the United States and offer support and education to all families in the country.

References:

National Missing Children's Day- May 25" National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenNational Missing Children's Day Take 25

Published by Alyssa Ast

Alyssa Ast is a freelance writer, journalist, and author of The Fundamentals of SEO for the Average Joe. Alyssa is the co-founder of the WM Network, which includes the WM Freelance Writer's Connection.  View profile

1 Comments

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  • Michelle Caton6/24/2010

    Interesting article. I did not know there was a National Missing Children's Day.

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