COLUMBUS (WKBN) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released the 2019 Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Report on Friday.
According to the report, there were 24,292 missing people in 2019, which is 1,327 less than the 2018 report.
The report said 18,638 of those people were missing children, with 9,606 being girls and 9,032 being boys.
In 2018, there were 19,879 missing children reports.
Authorities said 97.9% of the missing children were found safely by the end of the year. Six children reported missing were found dead in 2019.
According to the report, there were 21 attempted child abductions involving 12 girls and nine boys.
In cases where the method of abduction was known, 38% involved the suspect driving a vehicle and 57% happened between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The report also said that 45% happened while a child was walking to or from school.
Ohio law enforcement sent out three Amber Alerts in 2019. All three of those children were found safely.
Locally, there were 1,074 missing children reported in Mahoning County last year. That’s up from 710 reported in 2018 and 630 reported in 2017.
In Trumbull County, there were 198 missing children reported in Trumbull County. That’s down from 230 reported in 2018 and 276 reported in 2017.
In Columbiana County, there 40 missing children reported. There were 64 reported in 2018 and 53 reported in 2017.
Franklin County had the most with 4,884 missing children reports, down from 5,769 reports the previous year.
The report was released in recognition of National Missing Children’s Day, which is held every year on May 25.
“No case is more difficult than one involving a missing child,” Yost said. “Kids are a top target for exploitation by human traffickers and other predators, and my office will never abandon them – we will always do everything in our power to bring them home.”
A database of missing persons in Ohio can be found on the Attorney General’s website.
The report also included a list of national resources to prevention child abductions, sexual exploitation and help to find missing children.