COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today issued the 2025 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report in recognition of National Missing Children’s Day, which occurs annually on May 25.

“My heart weighs heavy with every child who goes missing,” Yost said. “I am grateful to Ohio law enforcement for their diligent work to bring these children home.”

Last year, according to the report, 19,930 people were reported missing in Ohio, 1,412 fewer than the previous year. Of the total, 15,367 were missing children, 1,037 fewer than in 2024. Encouragingly, 97.8 percent of the reported missing children — or 15,024 — were recovered safely by year’s end. Six of the children were found deceased, the report says.

The Clearinghouse Report stems from a coordinated effort between local law enforcement agencies and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), operated by the U.S. Department of Justice.  

NCIC maintains a database of missing person information and criminal information based on information provided by local law enforcement agencies.

When a child goes missing, law enforcement agencies create a missing person report and enter data from that report into the NCIC database. Once a child is found, the case is updated in the NCIC database, and the missing person report is closed.  

The cumulative yearly data for Ohio is provided by NCIC to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the Clearinghouse Report, which is used to raise awareness about Ohio’s missing children.

According to the 2025 report, Ohio last year had:

  • 7,656 runaway cases involving children who left home without permission.
  • 22 cases involving abductions by noncustodial parents.
  • Two cases involving abductions by strangers.
  • Four AMBER Alerts involving four children. All were recovered safely.
  • 18 Endangered Missing Child Alerts involving 18 children. Seventeen were recovered safely; one was found deceased.

A full copy of the 2025 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report is available here.

BCI Missing Persons Day Event

Families with missing loved ones gathered with law enforcement officers, advocates and community members on May 16 for Ohio’s Missing Persons Day, an awareness event hosted by BCI.  

The annual event, which this year took place at Bowling Green State University, raises awareness about missing person cases throughout Ohio and offers support to family members and others who are affected.  

BCI’s Missing Persons Unit, part of the bureau’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, provides vital assistance to families and local law enforcement agencies working to locate missing children and adults. Among other responsibilities, the unit coordinates the issuance of Endangered Missing Child Alerts and Endangered Missing Adult Alerts.