The FBI’s Seattle Field Office honors National Missing Children’s Day this May 25, 2017, as an occasion to emphasize the FBI’s commitment to bringing home our missing children; and to encourage the public to make child safety a priority.

The FBI continues to support local, state, and tribal partners in their searches for missing Washington children, such as Lindsey Baum. In 2009, 10-year-old Lindsey Baum was seen leaving a friend’s house in McCleary, Washington.

If members of the public have any information regarding Lindsey’s whereabouts or any other missing child, they are asked to please contact their local FBI field office, local police department, or 9-1-1. Tips may also be submitted to the FBI through tips.fbi.gov.

“We remain optimistic that members of the public have critical information that can help unsolved cases,” said SAC Tabb. “Our investigative teams are ready to act on any new tips, so we ask the public to come forward, without hesitation, no matter how small the piece of information may seem to you. Working with our local, state, and tribal partners, the FBI is committed to bringing home our missing children.”

Missing Children’s Day also serves as an occasion for parents, guardians, caregivers, and others concerned with the well-being of children to rededicate themselves to the priority of child safety. To make it easier for parents to prudently keep information on hand that could help investigators in the event of an emergency, the FBI created the Child ID app for smartphones and tablets. The free app for Apple and Android devices also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day. Each year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) commemorates Missing Children’s Day with a ceremony honoring the heroic and exemplary efforts of agencies, organizations, and individuals to protect children. More information can be found at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/missingchildrensday/.

In 1932, the FBI was given jurisdiction under the “Lindbergh Law” to immediately investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child of “tender age”—usually 12 or younger. However, the FBI can become involved with any missing child under the age of 18 as an assisting agency to the local police department. There does not have to be a ransom demand, and the child does not have to cross the state lines or be missing for 24 hours. Research indicates the quicker the reporting of the disappearance or abduction, the more likely the successful outcome in returning the child unharmed.

The FBI is fully committed to support local law enforcement partners investigating missing and endangered children. More information regarding these children can be found on the FBI’s website at: www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap.