(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- In advance of National Missing Children's Day on Monday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today released the 2014 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report, which documents that 18,097 children were reported missing in Ohio in 2014.
Of the children reported missing by law enforcement agencies during the calendar year, 17,826 were recovered safely.
Children reported missing were in these age categories:
- 0 to 5 years old - 148
- 6 to 12 years old - 1,000
- 13 to 17 years old - 16,949
The clearinghouse also documented 21 attempted child abductions involving 14 girls and seven boys. The suspects were driving vehicles in 82 percent of the situations, and 34 percent of the incidents occurred while the children were walking to or from school.
"Right now, hundreds of children are missing in Ohio, and we must never stop asking questions, never quit pursuing leads, and never give up the search," said Attorney General DeWine. "We will never give up hope, and we will never forget."
In honor of the hundreds of children missing in Ohio, Attorney General DeWine today attended Columbus Preparatory Academy's annual balloon launch in Columbus.
Students released 610 balloons representing each missing child in Ohio.
During today's event, representatives from the U.S. Postal Service also unveiled a new postage stamp aimed at bringing attention to the effort to find missing children nationwide.
Attorney General DeWine's Ohio Missing Persons Unit was developed in 2011 to better coordinate and convey information about services related to missing children and adults. The unit operates the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse and is part of the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
A copy of the 2014 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report can be found here.
-30-
Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840