When is National Missing Children’s Day 2018

Have you ever thought what day National Missing Children’s Day in 2018 is? – We will answer you: as usual on May 25. Why are we so sure? – The matter is that it has a constant date, established some years ago. But, frankly speaking, many people even don’t know about this day.

So let’s discuss this anniversary in details.

Unfortunately, different people miss in various parts of the world. As a result, some of them are eventually called dead, others – injured, the third – alive, but with poor health, and the fourth category has never been found at all. In any case, this problem is quite popular nowadays.

The problem global relevance

The statistics provided by international human rights organizations gives us the following data:

• each year over 70 thousand children disappear only in Europe;
• in the US, this amount is much higher unfortunately. – There the number of the missing boys and girls is about a million people per year.

It seems like unofficial data are even more disappointing. – We can only guess about them.

Taking into account all the information mentioned above, we can understand why the problem is so actual nowadays.

All in all the answer to the question “When is National Missing Children’s Day in 2018?” sounds rather simple for those, who are in theme. – Of course, on May 25. Each year. Without any exceptions. And by the way, up to the present it is celebrated in many countries all over the planet.

The main emblem and the traditional meaning

It is known well, that for the first time this date appeared in US. A unique symbol is the pretty image, containing a small forget-me-not flower of the sky blue shade.

Choosing the emblem, the holiday founders wanted to show that the sudden disappearance is a problem, the solution of which should be found not only by the parents, but by the whole society.

The special date should attract the society attention to the situation, which becomes worse almost every day.

Unfortunately, small boys or girls are kidnapped by criminals, who want to get money from relatives of the child, abused, murdered, robbed and exploited in different ways, including sexual ones.

Missing child is always a world problem, and there is nothing worse than this fact for grief-stricken parents and poor relatives.

That is why this date establishment was a successful attempt to draw the world society attention to the issue of missing kids and the protection of the small ones against any abduction, difficult life situations as well as illegal exploitation.

Memorable day history

This day in 1979, the six-years-old schoolboy called Evian Pates from the USA disappeared on his way home. This case got a wide response in the world, but unfortunately, all search failed.

In 4 years after this event, US President R. Reagan initiate the special date establishment.

Thanks to it, nowadays we are able to answer the question “What is the date of National Missing Children’s Day 2018 or any other year?” without any problems. A year later, in 1984, to be more exact, it was founded by NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).

Soon, the initiative was supported by many European countries, and at last in 1997 it was decided to establish the same fund but on the international level.

As a result on its initiative in 2010 the date of International Day of Missing Children was finally set on 25 May.

The typical reasons of the kid’s missing

The contemporary specialists are sure that a great amount of the disappeared children have decided to run away from their parents or even orphanages by themselves.

The reasons are quite different. As a rule, they are represented by quarrels with moms, dads, brothers, sisters or other relatives, family misunderstanding or aggression or just the desire to travel.

But the cases of kidnapping are also rather often. In these situations the children are taken for sale or sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, the statistics is increasing every year. The babies are very often missed because of the parents’ carelessness and negligence. The adults leave their kids unattended or just do not explain the rules of proper communication with strangers. As a result, the kid becomes an easy criminal object.

How the disappeared children are looked for

As it has been already mentioned above, the missing child becomes not only the personal problem, but the global one. And, of course, the adults, who have met a similar problem, call the police. But what do the officials do? It is believed that the US are able to decide this problem best of all.

The world first system of emergency alert about missing child was created in the United States in 1996. It became known as «Amber Alert», where Amber is the name of the 9-year-old girl, who died tragically in Texas.

This system immediately connects to seek the public through the media, electronic boards on roads and at airports, e-mail and smart phones. It also provides the widest search: it raises the volunteers and the army, the Coast Guard and the FBI, the media and psychologists.

During its existence only in the United States the system has helped to find and to return to the family more than 500 children. Since 2002 this experience has been adopted actively by other countries.

We should also mention that most countries of the world have special law enforcement agencies and special forces, which are used to search for the missing and kidnapped children.

The most common methods of kids’ searching are the arrangement of the photos in the media, on billboards, on the packages of essential goods, for example, milk packets. In the United States looking for the children, the specialists also use the individual recognition technologies for iris. In Europe there is a special hot line, which can be used by parents, relatives and witnesses non-stop.

The main principle is not to give up and not to stop the search.

Volunteer assistance

Usually when a person gets the answer to the question “When is National Missing Children’s Day 2018 or any other year?” he or she wants to help as much as possible.

As a result, nowadays all over the world there is a great amount of volunteers and different community organizations that are searching for small boys and girls. In this process quite various methods are used, beginning with sharing leaflets and up to the terrain combing. Internet has become one of the most operational means in recent years.

It helps to combine all the information about the missing children and today there are hundreds of databases as to the disappeared kids. Fortunately, the World Wide Web allows you to respond quickly to any events. There are several groups, created just for searching the children in social networks. As a rule they are highly effective for publications about the missing kids at regional sites.

Modern activities

So, you have already known when is National Missing Children’s Day in 2018, calendar, by the way, tells that it will be on Thursday this year. – Mind at the very same date all around the world you can participate in various educational events and activities (for example, “round tables”, expert meetings, conferences, competitions and exhibitions, etc.), listen to the radio and watch the corresponding TV shows.

In the large shopping centers of American and European cities there are various information boards with the images of blue forget-me-not flowers, the parents are given the brochures, children are learnt how to behave with strangers.