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Etan Patz
Six-year old Etan Patz is last seen by his family while on his way to school in New York City. His father, a photographer, creates missing posters that give national exposure to the issue and serve as a catalyst to creating and distributing missing children’s posters nationally. -
Atlanta Child Murders
An arrest is made ending the murder spree of 29 children and young adults in Atlanta, Georgia. -
Adam Walsh
Adam Walsh, 6-year-old son of John and Reve Walsh, is abducted from a Florida shopping mall and later found murdered. -
Adam Walsh Outreach Center for Missing Children
The Walshes establish the Adam Walsh Outreach Center for Missing Children in Florida to act as a resource for other families of missing children. -
Missing Children Act is Presented
The Missing Children Act allows law enforcement to enter missing child cases into a special file within the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center. -
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is officially opened by President Ronald Reagan on June 13, 1984. -
1-800-THE-LOST
The national 24-hour Missing Children’s Hotline 1-800-THE-LOST is established at NCMEC to provide resources for families, law enforcement, and other professionals. -
Missing Childrens Act is Passed
The Missing Children’s Assistance Act establishes a national resource center and clearinghouse for missing and exploited children, and NCMEC is designated to fulfill this role. -
Race to Recover Missing Children
ADVO creates the America’s Looking for its Missing Children program which distributed 85 million photos of missing children into homes across America each week. -
Cybertipline
NCMEC Creates the Child Pornography Tipline to support the U.S. Customs Service. -
Age-Progression Technology
NCMEC launches cutting-edge age-progression technology. -
NCMEC Merges
The Florida-based Adam Walsh Center and its branches merge with NCMEC. -
No More Waiting!
The National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990 mandates law enforcement to eliminate waiting periods before taking a missing child report. It also requires these cases be immediately entered into the FBI’s NCIC database and specifically names NCMEC as the liaison with law enforcement on these cases. -
Recovery Rate is Improving
NCMEC recovery rate of missing children is 62%. -
Code Adam
Code Adam, a program to help parents find missing children who become separated from their parents in retail stores, is created. -
NCMEC & U.S. Dept. of State and Justice
NCMEC enters into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Departments of State and Justice to manage cases of international child abduction. -
1 Million Calls!
The one millionth call is received by NCMEC’s National Missing Children Hotline. -
Federal Buildings Post Missing Children Posters
An Executive Order is signed by President Bill Clinton directing every federal building to display a bulletin board with posters of missing children provided by NCMEC. -
www.missingkids.com
Computer Associates and its CEO, Charles Wang, Create New Website for NCMEC, www.missingkids.com. -
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
NCMEC establishes the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. -
CyberTipline
The CyberTipline, the “911 for the Internet,” is established by the U.S. Congress at NCMEC to handle reports of suspected child sexual exploitation, www.cybertipline.com -
AMBER Alert Recovery
The first AMBER Alert recovery is of a 2-month old baby in Arlington, Texas. -
Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children Protection Act
NCMEC’s role as the nation’s clearinghouse on missing and exploited-child issues is formalized into law through the Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children Protection Act. -
White House Conference
First White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children is held hosted by President and Mrs. George W. Bush. -
Worth Magazine
Worth Magazine names NCMEC “one of America’s 100 Best Charities.” -
CyberTipline's 100,000th Report
The CyberTipline receives the 100,000th report of child sexual exploitation. -
PROTECT Act
The PROTECT Act of 2003 creates a national AMBER Alert Program, creates NCMEC’s CyberTipline by statute, and strengthens law enforcement’s ability to punish violent criminals who prey upon children. -
Fingerprint-Based Background Screening
Congress requests NCMEC serve as the hub for the National Fingerprint-Based Background Screening Project for youth-service organizations. -
Team Adam
Team Adam is created as a rapid response system, using retired law enforcement officers who are dispatched quickly to the scene of the most serious cases to provide advice and assistance to local law enforcement. -
AMBER Alert's 100th Rescue
The 100th child is recovered as a direct result of an AMBER Alert. -
94%!!!
NCMEC recovery rate of missing children is 94%. -
2 Million Calls
NCMEC receives the 2 millionth call to the National Missing Children Hotline. -
AMBER Alert Fully Adopted
An AMBER Alert plan is adopted in the last of 50 U.S. states. -
Text Message AMBER Alerts
Wireless AMBER Alerts are created via Text Messages. -
300,000 Sexual-Exploitation Reports
The CyberTipline takes its 300,000th child sexual-exploitation report. -
Hurricane Katrina & Rita
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, NCMEC establishes a special Katrina hotline which handles 34,000 calls, dispatches its Team Adam to shelters in four states, and reunites 5,192 dislocated children with their families. -
Cortez Stewart
NCMEC reunites 4-year-old Cortez Stewart, the last of 5,192 children separated from their families after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with her family. -
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 creates a national sex offender public database, new registration requirements for convicted sex offenders, and a uniform national system for tracking and locating missing or noncompliant sex offenders. -
Cybertipline Reports
The CyberTipline takes its 400,000th child sexual-exploitation report. -
96%!!!
NCMEC recovery rate of missing children is 96%. -
500,000th Report of CyberTipline
The CyberTipline receives its 500,000th report of suspected child sexual exploitation. -
97%!!!
NCMEC experiences the largest number of recoveries of missing children in the history of NCMEC. The recovery rate of missing children increases to 97%. -
25th Anniversary
The Child Victim Identification Program reviews and analyzes its 20 millionth image of child pornography.