In the first quarter of 2017, AMBER Alert Europe mapped 1267 missing children. 75 percent of these children were safely recovered within one month. For 8 children an AMBER Alert was issued. Six of these children were found within 24 hours.
The 8 AMBER Alerts were issued in France (1), Greece (3) and the Czech Republic (4). In March, the French authorities issued an AMBER Alert for a 5-year old boy from Clermont-Ferrand. The infant was found safe and sound in the company of his father, the abductor, a few weeks later. In Greece, a 6-year old boy from Komotini was found deceased after the Greek authorities issued an AMBER Alert.
1267 missing children
In the first quarter of 2017 AMBER Alert Europe mapped 1267 missing children as reported by law enforcement and police mandated organisations from 22 European Union Member States and Switzerland[1]. Facts and figures:
- 950 children recovered within one month
- Average age of missing children: 15 years old
- The majority of missing children were girls: 662 girls vs. 605 boys
- 93% of the missing children mapped by AMBER Alert had a photo available
[1] AMBER Alert Europe maps information on missing children which was made publicly available by official sources from law enforcement or other police mandated organisations from 21 European member states and Switzerland. Please see here for an overview of websites mapped by AMBER Alert Europe. The number of children reported as missing will be considerable higher than those who are given publicity. This is because the vast majority of missing children are found quickly, not every case is suitable for publicity and of those that are publicised, not all are put on a website (often because other means of publicity are more appropriate).