Frequently Asked Questions

• Assists with the preparation and distribution of posters, provides photographs to the media and places photos on the Internet;
• Provides a distinct support and referral service for families during and following recovery;
• Assists with reunification;
• Acts as a liaison with law enforcement, social service agencies, the legal community, government and other appropriate agencies;
• Acts as a liaison with the media when necessary;
• Offers family and peer support;
• Advocates for the family and the missing child.

• Immediate crisis intervention when a family needs help with a missing, exploited or recovered child;
• Support for survivors of abduction and exploitation, including helping them to connect with other victims;
• Emotional support for endangered runaways, parents, guardians and families;
• Referrals to appropriate agencies and mental health professionals;
• Reunification assistance from skilled therapists to help reintegrate a recovered child back into the home during each stage of reconnecting and rebuilding;
• Support for siblings of victims;
• Assistance in locating local organizations for exploited youth.

Since our creation back in 1985, our organization has assisted law enforcement in safely recovering 1,480 children!

Our statistics show that the majority of missing children are runaways. In fact, runaways account for 85% of all missing children’s reports. Thankfully, nearly 90% of these teens are safely located within the first few days of their disappearance. Unfortunately, a few will remain missing for days, weeks, months and even years.

• Establish healthy communication with your child. Remain open and honest;
• Change your work schedule, if possible, to be home when he returns from school;
• Invite your child’s new friends to the house to get to know his social network;
• If suspicious, ask your child whether he has intentions of running away;
• Talk to your teen about the dangers of running away from home;
• Always tell your child that you love him and that he is important to you.

It is important to identify your child’s needs. The better a parent understands his child’s needs, the better he can help him meet those needs and help prevent him from running away or engaging in risk taking behaviour.

• Accumulating money and personal possessions (money and clothing hidden in his room);
• Talking about running away (some try to anticipate their parents’ reaction on this subject);
• Problems at school (academic or disciplinary problems);
• Family problems;
• Alcohol or substance abuse;
• A sudden change of friends or companions;
• Isolation;
• Extreme change of habits (sleeping or eating);
• Anger outbursts (unusual or repeated anger);
• Breaking family rules;
• Depression.

It is important that you have aIl the necessary information regarding your child and be ready to give it to the police, including an updated photo. This will facilitate their job and accelerate the search for your missing child.

Contact our offices at 514 843-4333 for support and assistance.

The original Amber Alert Program was established in 1996 in Arlington, Texas, as a result of the kidnapping and murder of nine-year old Amber Hagerman. To date, the Program has been credited with the safe recovery of hundreds of children across North America.

When is an AMBER Alert issued?

In Quebec, Montreal Police and the Sûreté du Québec are the two authorities that can trigger an Amber Alert. In order for an Amber Alert to be triggered, the following criteria must be met:

1. The police have reasonable grounds to believe that a child (under 18 years of age) has been abducted.
2. The circumstances of the abduction indicate that the child is in imminent danger.
3. The police have sufficient descriptive information on one or more elements (child, suspect, means of transportation used) to consider that the immediate broadcast of the alert will help in finding the child.

What is the public’s responsibility when an Amber Alert is triggered?

During an AMBER Alert, the public is urged to share all pertinent information with their own personal networks and to be on the lookout for the missing child. The public is urged to immediately contact police if they have any information that can help them locate the missing child.

• Try to remain calm.  You will be better able to help your child with a clear mind.
• Enlist the help of a relative or a friend.
• If your child goes missing from your home, begin by conducting a thorough search of your entire house and property, including small hiding places and other areas such as attics, basements, cupboards, tool sheds, old refrigerators, heating ducts, piles of laundry and underneath beds.
• Check to ensure that your child isn’t at someone’s house such as a neighbours, friend’, family or acquaintance.
• Verify if any personal effects or clothes are missing. This could indicate a runaway situation.
• Look for any clues or messages that could have been left behind.

If you can’t immediately find your child, contact your local police.  Please note that there is no minimum waiting period (such as 24-hours) before reporting a disappearance.

Once the ground search concludes and the spotlight begins to fade it becomes a constant challenge to keep the community, as well as the media’s focus, on that of the missing child. An ongoing goal of the Missing Children’s Network is to identify different ways and means of ensuring that these cases remain in the public eye by continuing to stimulate media attention, generate new leads and ultimately bring the child back home.

Every year, the Missing Children’s Network, commemorates the milestone anniversary of long-term missing children by organizing an event on behalf of the family, in the hopes that these initiatives generate new leads that will eventually provide the families with the gift of closure.

Our motto is: Missing…but never forgotten.

• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share posters of missing children with your network of partners;
• Report any tips or information you may have regarding a missing child;
• Speak to your child’s school and invite the Network to present one of our age-appropriate personal safety workshops;
• Organize a fundraising event and collect funds in support of our critical mission;
• Get your company involved with the search for missing children by joining our Corporate Partner Poster Campaign;
• Volunteer your time and services on behalf of missing children.