If you can't immediately locate your child, stay calm. Most likely, your child is safe, preoccupied in an activity and doesn’t know you are worried. If your child is missing at home, first, search the house. For a young child, you should check closets, piles of laundry, in and under beds, inside old refrigerators, wherever a child could crawl into or hide and possibly be asleep or not able to get out. For an older child, check with the child's friends, with neighbors or at other hangouts. If you still cannot find your child, call the police immediately.

If your child disappears when shopping, notify the manager of the store or the security office and ask for assistance in finding your child. Then telephone the police. When speaking with the police, identify yourself and your location and say, "Please send an officer. I want to report a missing child."

When an officer arrives to take your report:

• Give your child's name, date of birth, height, weight and any unique identifiers.
• Tell when you noticed the disappearance and when you last saw your child.
• Describe the clothing the child was wearing when he or she disappeared.
• Tell the officer if your child is mentally challenged or drug dependent.
• Listen to instructions and answer any questions as completely as you can.
• Provide police with a recent photograph.
• Write down the officer's name, badge number, telephone number and the police report number.
• Keep a notebook and record all information about the investigation.

Tell the police that you want your child immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File. This ensures that any law-enforcement agency in the country will be able to identify your child if found in another community. There is NO mandatory waiting period for reporting a missing child to the police or for entry into NCIC. Then, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 and the National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-RUNAWAY.

Don't panic or lose sight of the immediate task at hand, locating your child. If you think your child has run away, keep in mind that many children return within 48 hours.