Every Hour Counts when a child goes missing
Help us urgently identify and rescue missing children here in the U.S.
In the crucial moments after a child goes missing, every second counts. At the Tim Tebow Foundation, we are committed to coming alongside the National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) and closing the gap between the moment a child is reported missing and their safe recovery. Leveraging expertise, technology, and a strong network of partners, every stone will be turned to bring them home swiftly.
This mission isn’t abstract—it’s personal. Imagine if it were your son, daughter, or grandchild who was missing. What would you do? How would you hope others would act?
The first 24 hours after a child goes missing are the most critical. Whether a child has been groomed or appears to have left voluntarily, they are in danger and at an exponentially increased risk of trafficking, exploitation, rape, abuse, and even murder. Locating these children and addressing their vulnerabilities should be a priority.
Over 460,000 children are reported missing in the U.S. each year. This stark reality is why we’ve partnered with the National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) over the past two years to identify, rescue, and protect missing, exploited, and trafficked children.
In the crucial moments after a child goes missing, every second counts. That is why we need to help host more Missing Children operations to identify, rescue, and protect missing children.
Your help today will allow us to...
In September, we were grateful to support our partner, the National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF), as they teamed up with the New York State Missing Persons Clearinghouse and a coalition of local, state, and federal partners, to launch a rescue operation in Buffalo, NY.
This operation resulted in the successful location of 47 children reported missing in Erie County alone. The teams explored new leads, reviewed case notes, and leveraged technology to assist with the investigations that led to the identification and protection of these 47 precious lives.
We must come together to protect our children. We must have courageous conversations, so we can make offenders’ tactics ineffective.
We’ve Created an Essential Guide to Help Protect Your Children
NCPTF is a rapid-response task force locating missing children, identifying predators, and fortifying law enforcement's ability to tackle complex crimes against society's most vulnerable. NCPTF's mission is to ensure that law enforcement has the resources and support needed around the clock to act swiftly and effectively each time a child goes missing.
First step is to call the Police and report the missing person. There is a misconception that you must first wait 24 hours before reporting the person as missing, and that is not true. As soon as you feel like someone you know is missing, call the police immediately. The police will then get in touch with NCPTF if they need help finding the missing person.
NCPTF works directly with law enforcement to assist with cases. If you feel like your case needs assistance, please ask your local law enforcement agency to get in touch with NCPTF.
When children go missing in the United States, NCPTF accelerates their safe recovery by equipping law enforcement with free, immediate access to investigative experts, advanced technology, and a global network of dedicated professionals. NCPTF unites law enforcement with key decision makers, subject matter experts, and private sector partners to find child-focused, long-term solutions that effectively and compassionately serve vulnerable children.
A missing child is a vulnerable child who appears lonely, emotionally distressed, depressed, or even seeking attention – all characteristics a predator looks to exploit. The link between missing children and human trafficking is very strong, with missing kids being one of the highest contributors to child sex trafficking. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), about one in six reported endangered runaways are likely victims of child sex trafficking.
When a child leaves home, the clock starts ticking. Every minute that child is on the street, the odds of him or her being assaulted, raped, trafficked, addicted, criminalized, or murdered go up exponentially. The information that can be gathered within the first 24 hours usually contains the most effective leads in the investigation in order to locate the child.
Your gift goes directly to NCPTF to help fuel missing child operations and provide assistance to law enforcement including investigative experts and advanced technology available 24/7. By creating more capacity on the NCPTF team, more missing children can be found.