How often do kids go missing?

The U.S. Department of Justice's national estimate shows 61,900 children on average go missing annually in much the same manner Ryan Flake was reported missing -- too young to know how to return home. Another 340,500 go missing in what is classified as a "benign explanation," defined as "a child's whereabouts are unknown to the child's caretaker and this causes the caretaker to (1) be alarmed, and (2) try to locate the child and (3) contact the police about the episode for any reason, as long as the child was not lost, injured, abducted, victimized, or classified as a runaway/thrownaway."

The numbers themselves may or may not be accurate, depending upon who you ask.

Slate published a piece last year dissecting the numbers that show a whopping 800,000 kids are reported missing each year; most cases were not the result of a child wandering off.

When the categories get conflated, the statistics can become confusing. Take the number 800,000: It's true that 797,500 people under 18 were reported missing in a one-year period, according to a 2002 study. But of those cases, 203,900 were family abductions, 58,200 were nonfamily abductions, and only 115 were "stereotypical kidnappings," defined in one study as "a nonfamily abduction perpetrated by a slight acquaintance or stranger in which a child is detained overnight, transported at least 50 miles, held for ransom or abducted with the intent to keep the child permanently, or killed." Even these categories can be misleading: Overstaying a visit with a noncustodial parent, for example, could qualify as a family abduction. Some individuals get entered into the database multiple times after disappearing on different occasions, resulting in potentially misleading numbers.

How to prepare in case your child goes missing

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends taking six steps:

• Keep a complete description of your child.
• Take color photographs of your child every six months.
• Have your dentist prepare dental charts and prints for your child. Be sure the dental chart is updated each time an examination or dental work is performed and dental prints are taken once every two years until your child is 18 years old.
• Know where your child's medical records are located.
• Arrange with your local law-enforcement agency to have your child fingerprinted.
• Consider having a DNA sample taken from your child.

If you believe your child is missing, it is critical that you act immediately. If your child is missing from home, search the home checking closets, piles of laundry, in and under beds, inside large appliances, and in vehicles including trunks--wherever a child could crawl into or hide and possibly be asleep or not able to get out. Check with your neighbors and friends of your child. If you still cannot find your child, immediately call your local law-enforcement agency.