RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed Sunday, May 25th as Missing Children's Day and is encouraging parents to talk to their children about rules for safety.

“Last year, the N.C. Center for Missing Persons recorded 9,127 missing children,” said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety which includes the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons. “While approximately 96 percent of those children were returned safely to their families, hundreds are still missing. We must work together in our communities to ensure our children are safe and healthy.”

Beatty encouraged parents to keep the lines of communication open with their children, to know who their friends are, where they play and what is going on in their lives. He urged parents to teach their children the eight rules for safety, which include:

Check with parents or guardian before going anywhere – even with someone they know.
Check with parents or a trusted adult before accepting anything from anyone.
Take a friend when going places or playing outside.
Know your name, address, phone number and parents' names.
Say NO! if someone tries to touch or treat you in a way that makes you uncomfortable or scared.
Know that you can tell your parents if you feel uncomfortable, confused or scared.
It's ok to say NO; there will always be someone who can help you.
You are strong, smart and have the right to be safe.

Many of the missing children reported each year are teen runaways who do not fully realize the dangers of being away from their families. Missing children cases also include those who are taken by a non-custodial parent or relative. Most missing children cases do not involve foul play, and the children are either found by law enforcement officers or, in the case of runaways, return on their own.

In cases where a missing child age 17 or younger is believed to have been abducted by a stranger or is in danger of injury or death, North Carolina activates the AMBER Alert System so citizens can be the eyes and ears of law enforcement. The Center for Missing Persons activated the AMBER Alert System 13 times in 2007, with the successful recovery of all children. Last year, the Center for Missing persons began running electronic crawl messages on lottery terminals to notify convenient store clerks and lottery players to be on the look out for missing children during AMBER Alerts.

To report a missing child or inquire about a program, call 1-800-522-5437 (toll free, nationwide, 24 hours a day). For more information about North Carolina's AMBER Alert System, visit www.nccrimecontrol.org/amberalert.

May 25th is set aside each year as National Missing Children's Day. It is the anniversary of the 1979 abduction of six-year-old Etan Patz from New York City. To learn more about the nationwide effort to help locate missing children, go to www.missingkids.org

# # #