The Mysterious Disappearance of Canadian Children

Canada’s “National Post” has referenced data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Bulletin to highlight the relatively high detection rate of missing children cases in Canada. This is largely attributed to Canada’s small, close-knit communities, as well as its comprehensive social information network. Relevant data indicates that 3/4 of missing children are “voluntarily missing”, with more than half being found within 24 hours of their disappearance. The probability of finding missing children within the first week of their disappearance is as high as 92%, and 95% of missing children never leave the missing city.

Statistics also reveal that in cases of strangers kidnapping minors, most perpetrators are male, unmarried, and around 27 years old. Half of the suspects live alone or with their parents, and many are unemployed or low-income earners. Two-thirds of those employed in salaried positions have similar criminal records. In 51% of child kidnapping cases, the suspect’s identity is known within 24 hours. A shocking 10% of suspects falsely present themselves as helpful and reach out to the victims’ families to demand ransom.

Information from the Canadian Missing Children Database shows that if a child has been missing for more than six months, the likelihood of finding them becomes slim. The database adopts the “don’t find or delete” model and stores information on missing children in nine provinces and three regions in Canada, excluding Quebec. Most of the old files have become “stubborn files,” with the oldest remaining file being of Forsyth, a 14-year-old child who disappeared in British Columbia in 1974. The oldest double missing child “stubborn file” was created on August 24, 1981, when 14-year-old Russ Forsyth and 15-year-old McCormick disappeared while driving an off-road vehicle without a license near a farm in Ontario. To date, there has been no news of their whereabouts. If they are still alive, they would be close to 60 years old.

Recognized as the most bizarre disappearance in Canadian history, the case of Dunahee occurred in a school playground in Victoria, British Columbia, in May 1991. Dunahee, a boy who was turning five that day, disappeared in broad daylight, in full view of everyone. Since the case occurred in the “school safety zone,” the Victoria Police assigned Officer Robertson, who specializes in investigating unsolved cases of missing children, to take charge. The officer has not been replaced to date. A separate hotline has been set up, and over the years, 11,000 clues have been received, but nothing has been found.

Canada established the world’s first comprehensive national missing children statistics and search system. The national missing children search system includes the police, the Canadian Missing Children Association, and the Canadian Missing Children Database, as well as the Canadian Child Protection Center and the Missing Children Network. If deemed necessary, Canada will issue an Amber Alert, and in the past seven years, 56 Amber Alerts have been issued, with 67 of 74 missing children being safely recovered. Kindergartens and schools provide regular safety training for minors, educating them not to follow strangers easily and training them to save themselves and call for help in danger. Each province and region in Canada sets a lower age limit for children to be left alone, usually 14 years old, and children must sign a “parental disclaimer” when participating in activities that require overnight stays.

　　Ms. Accamone, the former executive director of the Missing Children Network, pointed out that the top 10 traps commonly used in child abduction in Canada are, in order, “pretend to ask for help”, “gift bait”, “game bait” and “name trap” (calling out the name of the child or his parents). Children relax their vigilance) “Authority trap” (the abductor plays a role that children can easily trust, such as a police officer, coach, pastor, doctor, etc.) “Threat abduction”, “Praise abduction” and “Emergency abduction” (falsely claiming that the child’s parents and other important relations are in danger ) “Opportunity Abduction” (falsely claiming to provide children with job opportunities, mainly targeting older children) “Celebrity Trap” (falsely claiming to help children meet a celebrity), child anti-abduction training by various Canadian institutions and platforms, The above-mentioned traps are often targeted at the above-mentioned traps. The anti-abduction drama filmed by the aforementioned mixed-race girl filmed two episodes of each of the above-mentioned traps.
　　Ms. Acamone pointed out that there are also some misunderstandings in the above-mentioned anti-abduction education for children, such as the famous anti-abduction slogan “Don’t talk to strangers”. In fact, it is easy to mislead children into thinking that “acquaintances can be trusted” – such as As mentioned before, most abduction cases are committed by acquaintances or even relatives and friends, and the proportion that is actually caused by “talking to strangers” is very small. Many experts believe that a more scientific and effective anti-abduction approach should be to educate children to “establish personal boundaries” and know how to maintain appropriate safety boundaries and distance from others. This is the only way to effectively prevent abduction.
　　Many social workers pointed out that various outdoor organized activities are popular in Canada. Because they are “organized” and have many companions, organizers, participants and parents often take them lightly, which can easily lead to “darkness under the lights” that leads to children going missing.
　　Today, the development of the Internet and the popularity of electronic positioning systems have greatly facilitated guardians’ protection of children. However, at the same time, children are becoming more and more interested in socializing online, which has also led to a surge in Internet-related missing child cases. Missing children’s online data shows that in recent years, there has been an explosion of missing children cases related to social platforms, including cases of online abduction, and cases of disappearances caused by children running away or visiting netizens.
　　Experts also called for “attention to the sexual exploitation of missing children.” They pointed out that regardless of “voluntary disappearance” or abduction, boys and girls are very vulnerable to sexual violence, sexual assault and sexual exploitation after disappearance, as in New Hampshire in the United States. Finkelhall, a professor of sociology at the university, said, “The main motivation for strangers to kidnap children is none other than sexual exploitation and sexual assault. Children kidnapped by strangers are often not real children.” In addition, some of them have become thieves. , drug addicts are also more likely to occur, and these require special attention and targeted prevention.
What should be done for the children?

　　Unlike the U.S. police, who are accustomed to widely posting “missing children notices” at the information desks of large warehouse supermarkets and commercial centers such as Wal-Mart, Canada is more accustomed to searching through databases, media and the Internet. There are several national missing children databases alone. . The Royal Canadian Mounted Police prominently highlights a series of precautions and “needs to know” on an online homepage called “What to Do for Children”: –
　　Although there are many reasons for children to go missing or abducted, Psychological illness and pain caused by such incidents are common, so necessary psychological intervention and counseling must be provided to the rescued persons in a timely manner.
　　——Although minors running away from home are classified as “active disappearances”, this does not mean that the risks they face are smaller than being abducted or kidnapped. These risks may be but are not limited to sexual assault, violent injury, and coercion to steal. , drug or substance abuse, underage drinking, homelessness, gang involvement, or solicitation of violence.
　　–While most child abductions orchestrated by friends and family are resolved and the children’s lives are usually not in danger, “these are still traumatic events that are likely to have lifelong effects on the minors involved, many of whom are not Due to the psychological trauma they suffered, adults have lived in poverty like homeless people for many years.
　　——Although cases of children being kidnapped by strangers are rare in Canada, this does not mean that the danger does not exist. Strangers may The idea of ​​​​kidnapping, abducting or kidnapping children for sexual purposes, violent harm, mental health problems, or financial motives may arise. It is worth noting that although the incidence of child abduction by strangers is very low, Yet they lead to disproportionately high rates of serious injury, death or disappearance. So what should be done about them?

On March 1, 2023 local time, in Brighton, England, a police search team searched for a missing newborn in the assigned area. The newborn’s parents were later arrested on suspicion of gross negligent homicide.

　　The “What to Do for Children” homepage gives the following suggestions:
　　- If your minor relative or friend is missing or kidnapped, you should immediately call the police or dial 911, the unified North American emergency call number;
　　- Unlike the United States, In Canada, as long as a child is missing, the police can be called immediately without waiting for the so-called “minimum required time” to pass. This regulation has led to a large number of false alarms involving missing children, making the already understaffed police force even more stretched, but it has undoubtedly greatly increased the number of missing children. The rescue rate of children, and the particularly high detection rate and rescue rate of missing children in Canada are also related to this; –
　　If you suspect that your child has been taken out of the country, you should promptly ask the police to contact the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. –
　　It is important to discuss their safety with children regularly;
　　- For younger children, a buddy system should be introduced, and for older minors, they should be encouraged to stay together when they feel uncomfortable or feel they are in danger Take the initiative to stay away from these hidden dangers;
　　——Tell the children to get the permission of their adult guardian before going anywhere, so that the guardian knows where they are and when to go home at any time;
　　——Pay attention to the child’s rebellious behavior, abnormal movements and various Signs of running away from home include secretly hiding and accumulating money, discussing topics related to running away among friends, on the phone, mobile phone or the Internet, and suspected drug abuse; ——Effective measures to prevent children from running away, including communicating with them in a timely
　　manner Communicate, get to know their friends and social networks, actively talk to your children about the dangers of running away from home, and often tell them “I love you”; –
　　Preserve all kinds of biological evidence as much as possible, even if it is of little use, but technology is developing, Perhaps it will become an important basis for finding or identifying missing children in the future.
　　The Dunahee case has been highly publicized for decades, largely due to the tireless efforts of the families of the missing. In March 2021, the Dunahee family held its 30th virtual run to benefit children. Charitable funds raise donations. They also regularly update Dunahi’s age and appearance sketch, which makes the disappearance always a hot topic in society.
　　It is worth mentioning that Dunahi’s parents claimed to the media that a major source of spiritual motivation for them to persevere in searching for their missing son came from distant China: The National Post once reported that Dunahi was stolen and sold when he was 1 year old. The missing baby boy Mao Yin was finally reunited after his mother, Li Jingzhi, searched for him for 32 years and eliminated more than 300 false clues one by one.