Do You Know What to Do If Your Child Goes Missing?

July 21, 2008

Two-year-old Caylee Anthony went missing six weeks ago, but it wasn't until last week that her mother, Casey reported her disappearance. She has since been arrested for obstructing the police investigation. If your child went missing, do you know what to do? The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a few tips for parents and guardians. Test your knowledge by taking this quiz.

27 Comments

daisymay81 4 years 41 weeks

I'm glad I got 6 out of 6 since I don't even have kids yet. I have no idea how I got them all right. I hope I never have to use this information

snowysakurasky 4 years 43 weeks

i do not think that she is an idiot. either she had something to do with it, or she is being scared out of going to the police by the abductors (i guess in some ways that WOULD make her an idiot) Hope that she is just scared and they find the poor little girl.

emmebeth 4 years 43 weeks

anniebananie- this woman IS an idiot!

anniebananie 4 years 43 weeks

either this lady is an idiot or she had something to do with it.

Dbtabm 4 years 44 weeks

Uh I would know to call the police. There's no way this women isn't involved with this crime.

Twinkle 4 years 44 weeks

My guess is the mother lost control and hurt her daughter and she's been using this time to come up with a story.

Greggie 4 years 44 weeks

Like I said, I assumed mulitiple answers were correct. It's just that without an "all of the above" option, it gives the highly incorrect impression that only one is the right way to go.

Berlin 4 years 44 weeks

i live here...the woman is insane. she's actually smiling and trying to hold it back while she's being led out in handcuffs. she lied to the police, keeps changing her story, and claims she left her at a babysitter who never actually existed and at an apartment that has been vacant for months. Come on!

carak 4 years 44 weeks

the family was on the Today show this morning. they made it seem like there's a possibility that the girl was kidnapped & maybe the mom was being blackmailed. there was a lot of "we know but can't comment" kinda talk going on.

POPSUGAR Moms 4 years 44 weeks

Greggie — there were multiple correct answers in many cases.

nv27 4 years 44 weeks

5/6. I thought for sure I'd get a 100 but, oh well, I always thought you could report a child immediately but they dont consider an adult missing until after 24hrs.

jessie 4 years 44 weeks

i'd be taking in current photos and fingerprints and all i could remember asap. but i hope i never have to. scary.

kikidawn 4 years 44 weeks

pinkprincess1101, I found on http://ag.ca.gov/missing/ which is the website for the Office of the Attorney General in California that you don't have to wait even for adults. It states: There is NO waiting period for reporting a person missing. All California police and sheriffs' departments must accept any report, including a report by telephone, of a missing person, including runaways, without delay and will give priority to the handling of the report. And the way the website reads this applies to adults and minors. I read on another site that some police stations will try to blow you off for 24 hrs or 48. They have to take your report and if they don't you speak with a supervisor.

kikidawn 4 years 44 weeks

pinkprincess1101,I found on http://ag.ca.gov/missing/ which is the website for the Office of the Attorney General in California that you don't have to wait even for adults. It states:There is NO waiting period for reporting a person missing. All California police and sheriffs' departments must accept any report, including a report by telephone, of a missing person, including runaways, without delay and will give priority to the handling of the report.And the way the website reads this applies to adults and minors.I read on another site that some police stations will try to blow you off for 24 hrs or 48. They have to take your report and if they don't you speak with a supervisor.

pinkprincess1101 4 years 44 weeks

greggie i was thinking the same but hey its a poll, i was like all three could be correct and on the one i got wrong i clicked it by accident, wadewifey its 24 hours for an adult but for children it is immediately

Greggie 4 years 44 weeks

No offense, but this quiz is REALLY poorly done. Especially question two - you should search all of those places, not just one. And you should notify family members immediately if they live close by, not just law enforcement. I assume these had multiple acceptable answers, but there should've been an "all of the above" option on a lot of these. And whoever told you 24 hours for a child is completely incorrect, wadewifey. For adults, most law enforcement won't really do much until 24 hours depending on the circumstances, but they still have to take a report. For a child, you report it IMMEDIATELY.

Greggie 4 years 44 weeks

No offense, but this quiz is REALLY poorly done. Especially question two - you should search all of those places, not just one. And you should notify family members immediately if they live close by, not just law enforcement. I assume these had multiple acceptable answers, but there should've been an "all of the above" option on a lot of these.And whoever told you 24 hours for a child is completely incorrect, wadewifey. For adults, most law enforcement won't really do much until 24 hours depending on the circumstances, but they still have to take a report. For a child, you report it IMMEDIATELY.

faerymagick15 4 years 44 weeks

6/6, guess I know what to do...this story happened just 5 miles from my town and obviously is all over our local news. Of course I believe the mother has something to do with the child's disappearance.

kikidawn 4 years 44 weeks

In fact everything I read says to report immediately b/c of the Amber Alert System and b/c the first few hours are the most vital in retrieving a child that is missing.

kikidawn 4 years 44 weeks

wadewifey,From my understanding of the information I've found online there is no mandatory waiting period for adults or minors.

kikidawn 4 years 44 weeks

wadewifey, From my understanding of the information I've found online there is no mandatory waiting period for adults or minors.