Not all missing children cases look the same–and each one brings unique challenges

By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Any child who goes missing likely faces a dangerous situation, but the type of case can complicate the efforts to find them.

Though the common perception of a missing child is abduction by a stranger, there are many types of missing cases, each resulting in differing media coverage, notifications and protocols.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), missing child cases fall into several categories, including endangered runaways, family abductions, nonfamily abductions, critically missing young adults and children who are lost, injured or otherwise missing.

A family abduction is when a child is wrongfully taken, kept or hidden by a parent or family member to interfere with another person’s custody or visitation rights. An endangered runaway is a young person under 18 who goes missing intentionally. A nonfamily abduction occurs when a child is taken by a stranger or someone unrelated to them, such as a neighbor or someone they met online. 

Children who are lost, injured or otherwise missing have disappeared under unknown circumstances or are too young to be considered runaways. Critically missing young adults are youth ages 18 to 20 who may face heightened danger based on the circumstances of their disappearance.

Family abduction cases can be especially challenging to navigate. 

According to a report by NCMEC, in 2024, family abductions accounted for 3.9 percent of the 29,568 missing children cases reported to the organization. 

NCMEC reports that “family abductions are the second most common type of missing child case reported” to their organization. Risk factors can include the following, according to NCMEC: 

• Threats to abduct or a previous abduction of the child 
• A parent with no strong ties to the child’s home state, but ties to friends and family living in another state/country
• A history of marital issues 
• A parent engaged in planning activities (e.g., selling a home, securing travel documents or vital records) 
• A history of domestic violence or child abuse

Angeline Hartmann, director of communications at NCMEC, spoke with AFRO News about family abductions. 

“In family abduction cases, the public often believes that a child is not ‘really missing’ and they are safe because they are with a parent,” she said. “The reality is very different. Oftentimes, these children are facing instability, a lack of schooling and medical care, neglect and unfortunately, even violence.”

One such case involves Ailea Brown, who has been missing for nearly seven years after disappearing from her home on the 300 block of Erin Russel Court in Reisterstown, Md. Her father, Durrell Williams, says her disappearance came after the conclusion of a custody battle.

According to the Baltimore County Police Department (BCoPD), Brown went missing at 10 years old on May 25, 2019, in Reisterstown, Md. A white SUV was seen in the area around the time she disappeared. Police reported on June 3, 2019, that they had no reason to believe it was a stranger abduction. Several missing reports say she may be with her mother.

Due to the case involving a minor, the BCoPD told the AFRO it could not release certain details and documents.

The mother, Alicia Brown, had previously been arrested for leaving Ailea in a car for eight hours while gambling at Maryland Live! Casino in 2014.

Williams described the custody battle as long and tumultuous, saying he first filed for custody when Ailea was 4 years old. 

“I didn’t get into court until she was 7,” he said. “It took almost a year and a half of court proceedings for me to walk away with full custody. By the very end of it, she mysteriously vanishes. She was ordered to be returned to my home.”

Williams remains determined to find his child. 

“I could never just walk away without her,” he said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I do not think about my daughter.” 

He believes the mother is aware of Ailea’s whereabouts. 

“Her mom knows exactly where she is,” Williams claimed. “The only people that do not know where this child is are the police and myself.” 

The AFRO was not able to contact the mother. BCoPD confirmed that Ailea still has not been located as of April 29. The public is advised to call BCoPD at (410) 887-2222 to offer any information about Ailea’s whereabouts.

Hartmann said media outreach and public engagement are among the most effective tools in helping recover missing children for all cases.

“We’ve seen firsthand the power of the public eye when it comes to recovering a missing child and reuniting them with their family,” she said. 

The AMBER Alert system, which sends information about abducted children to the public through cellphones, social media and other platforms, has helped recover 1,268 children since its launch in 1996. 

Yet, it is widely documented that missing Black children receive less media coverage than their White counterparts, limiting public awareness, reducing search efforts and increasing the likelihood that cases go cold. Approximately 36.1 percent of missing children were Black in 2024, according to NCMEC.

As cases like Ailea’s demonstrate, family abductions are complex and often overlooked, highlighting the crucial role of public awareness, media coverage and community involvement in locating all missing children.

According to NCMEC there are steps that can be taken to aid in preventing a family abduction, including the following: 

• Obtain a custody determination from the court which specifically outlines custody and visitation rights.
• Request that the judge include abduction-prevention measures in a description of the visitation rights such as supervised visitation, posting a bond, entering a child’s name in the Passport Issuance Alert Program, and surrendering a child’s passport to the court.
• Advise the child’s school or daycare of custody orders, flag passport applications for your child, and have children memorize essential information such as home address and phone number in case of emergencies.
• If a court order prohibits the child’s removal from the country, enroll him/her in the “Prevent Departure” Program

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