The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® gathers key facts regarding the issues of missing and sexually exploited children and Internet safety and updates these facts and statistics frequently.
- In 2014, there were 466,949 entries for missing children under the age of 18 into the FBI's National Crime Information Center, also called NCIC.
- To find the number of children missing from a specific state or territory contact the state’s Missing Child Clearinghouses.
- The first three hours are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child. The murder of an abducted child is rare, and an estimated 100 cases in which an abducted child is murdered occur in the U.S. each year. A 2006 study indicated that 76.2 percent of abducted children who are killed are dead within three hours of the abduction. 
- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 205,550 missing children since it was founded in 1984. Our recovery rate for missing children has grown from 62 percent in 1990 to 97 percent today.
- The AMBER Alert program was created in 1996 and is operated by the U.S. Department of Justice. As of April 2015, 767 children have been successfully recovered as a result of the program. 
- As of January 2015, NCMEC’s toll free, 24 hour call center has received more than 4,096,795 calls since it was created in 1984. Information about missing or exploited children can be reported to the call center by calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
Child sexual exploitation
- U.S. law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in cases
of sexual exploitation of children since the 1990s. According to a report
to Congress in 2010. 
- In 2006 U.S. attorneys handled 82.8 percent more child
pornography cases than they had in 1994.
- State and local law enforcement agencies involved in Internet Crimes
Against Children Task Forces reported a 230 percent increase in
the number of documented complaints of online enticement of children from
2004 to 2008.
- ICAC Task Forces noted a more than 1,000 percent increase in
complaints of child sex trafficking from 2004 to 2008.
- As of January 2015, the CyberTipline has received more than 3.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation since it was launched in 1998. Suspected child sexual exploitation can be reported to the CyberTipline at www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-843-5678.
- As of January 2015, NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 132 million child pornography images since it was created in 2002.
- 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2014 were likely sex trafficking victims.
- 68 percent of these likely sex trafficking victims were in the care of social services or foster care when they ran.
- 93 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 go online.
- Of children five years old and younger who use the Internet, 80 percent use it at least once a week. 
- One in 25 children ages 10 to 17 received an online sexual solicitation where the solicitor tried to make offline contact.
- Four percent of cell phone owning teens ages 12 to 17 say they have sent sexually suggestive nude/semi-nude messages to others via text message.
- 15 percent of cell phone owning teens ages 12 to 17 say they have received sexually suggestive nude/semi-nude images of someone they know via text.
- For more Internet Safety facts visit www.netsmartz.org/InternetSafety.