Oceanside CA– Oceanside CA– Today is National Missing Children’s Day. It’s a day chosen to honor Etan Patz — the little boy who disappeared in New York City on May 25, 1979, while on his way to school. Here are 10 ways to honor families across the U.S. who are searching for their children.

1. Share a poster. Search for a child on the NCEMC website and share their poster with your friends and family through email or social media.
2. Take the Pledge. Pledge to Take 25 minutes to talk to children in your life about safety.
3. Like NCEMC on Facebook and Twitter.
4. Make sure your wireless AMBER Alerts are activated. AMBER Alerts have the power to save lives. Make sure the AMBER Alert notification button is activated on your cell phone so you are alerted if a child in your area goes missing.
5. Get a free lapel pin and wear it. Register for a free lapel pin and wear it to show your support for the families of missing children.
6. Change your profile cover photo. Start a trend among your friends by changing your cover photo in honor of National Missing Children’s Day.
7. Give. The work NCMEC does to help find missing children and keep families safer relies on donations from people like you.
8. Bookmark the anniversaries page. Bookmark the NCMEC anniversaries page on your browser and check it often to see updated photos of children who went missing during that calendar week.
9. Make a Child ID. Make a Child ID for each of your children to make sure you have all the information you need in one place in case your child ever goes missing.
10. Know what to do if you see a missing child. No amount of information is too small. If you see a missing child or have any information about a missing child, report it to 1-800-THE-LOST®.

An example of why seconds count;
A concerned parent contacted NCMEC because they believed their ex-spouse was going to leave the country with their children, even though court orders prohibited the removal of the children from their state of residence without the consent of both parents.
The ex-spouse had a history of abducting the children, of which they shared custody.
The concerned parent had been told the other parent was planning a short trip out of town with the children, but had recently discovered information that indicated tickets had been purchased for a flight that evening to Amman, Jordan. NCMEC was contacted and sprang into action. We coordinated with the FBI and they quickly mobilized resources and went to the airport.
Moments before the plane was scheduled to depart from New York, the parent and children were safely escorted off the plane by law enforcement. This was within two hours of NCMEC receiving the case.
This is a perfect example of NCMEC not wasting a second when it comes to missing children. We are a safety net for families of missing children and will be there to support them from the moment their child goes missing. Our goal is always to help law enforcement bring missing children home, safe and sound.
You can visit the NCMEC Take 25 website for safety tips and everything you’ll need to make kids safer … both online and off.
It is NCMEC’s readiness and perseverance that has allowed us to assist law enforcement in the recovery of 193,000 missing children. The credit doesn’t go to just NCMEC. Our faithful and generous donors like you, who support NCMEC, have also played a role in bringing missing children home.
But, there are still missing children every day who are in need of your help. And many of them are at risk of sexual exploitation.
Give today and help continue the work to recover missing children and reunite families. Every second counts, so please take the time to renew your support today. Together, we can help bring more missing children home.