What should you do if you see a child who
appears to be lost?
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) encourages people to be alert
and report situations regarding children who appear to be lost. NCMEC teaches children to seek
the assistance of adults who may be sources of help if they become lost. NCMEC encourages
children to ask for help from adults such as uniformed law-enforcement or security officers and
business/store personnel wearing nametags.
But what should you do when you see a child who appears to be lost? The steps noted below are
ways you can provide assistance to a lost child.
- Get involved if you see a child that appears to be lost.
- Comfort the child but avoid physically touching him or her.
- Ask the child if he or she is lost or knows the location of his or her
parent/guardian. - Refrain from requesting too much personal information. Children are taught to
not give out this information to people they don’t know. - Contact Campus Security or Boise Police Department to report the incident.
- Ask other adults in the area for assistance in reporting the incident to a person
in a position of authority while waiting for law enforcement to arrive. - Remain in the immediate location, and DO NOT take the child elsewhere. Do
not place the child in your vehicle and drive to seek help. - Wait with the child until help arrives.
NOTE: If you see a child who your recognize as one who is missing,
based on information from sources such as media reports, missing child alerts, or fliers issued by law enforcement authorities,
immediately call law enforcement and follow their instructions.