FBI Cleveland Focuses on Missing Northern Ohio Children During Community Outreach Event

Members of the community are invited to learn about child safety

[Cleveland, OH]  (6-16-25) FBI Cleveland, together with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Cleveland Division of Police, Bellefaire JCB, and the Canopy Child Advocacy Center, will staff a community table to spread awareness of missing children in our area, and share child safety information with the community.

Who                      FBI Cleveland, Law Enforcement and Community Partners

What                     Missing Children Awareness Day

When                    Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Where                  Westown Square (10820 Lorain Avenue)

Time                     11:00am to 2:00pm

While National Missing Children’s Day was May 25, the FBI wants to help the public understand that every day, children either go missing or remain missing and someone either knows something about a disappearance or knows of someone who has information to bring that child home. It is important to know that the FBI will look at all tips and leads and people who submit information can do so anonymously.

“When the FBI receives a call that a child has gone missing, we know the clock is ticking. Our mission is to identify, locate, and recover the child victim,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “That is why our business and law enforcement partnerships are a vital component to the work we do and, our partnership with the community is crucial for helping us locate missing children.”

During the event, the FBI and its partners will provide important safety information for parents, guardians, and caregivers to keep children safe and share posters of many of the still-missing children from across Northern Ohio. Many don’t realize that a child can be “missing” when the child has run away, is lost, or otherwise abducted– not only by a stranger, but also by a family member, for example, a non-custodial parent or in some cases, a family member who poses an extreme risk to the child, such as a registered sex offender.

How the FBI is involved
The FBI was given jurisdiction under the “Lindbergh Law” in 1932 to immediately

investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child of

“tender age”—usually 12 or younger. However, the FBI goes one step further:

•              When any child is missing under the age of 18, the FBI can become involved as an assisting agency to the local police department.

•              There does not have to be a ransom demand

•              The child does NOT have to cross the state lines or be missing for 24 hours.
Research indicates the quicker the reporting of the mysterious disappearance or abduction the more likely the successful outcome in returning the child unharmed.

To report a missing child:
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children                      1-800-THE LOST
FBI                                                                                                                         1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324)