Governor, First Lady Cooper Recognize National Missing Children’s Day in North Carolina | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children's Day in North Carolina. In recognition of the day, First Lady Kristin Cooper read the Governor's proclamation today at a ceremony at the Executive Residence.

    The First Lady hopes to encourage more North Carolina parents and caregivers to talk to their children about their safety.

    "I can only imagine the heartache parents must feel when they discover their child is missing," Mrs. Cooper said. "Through honoring Missing Children's Day, we hope to make parents more aware of the potential dangers to their children, as well as protections that could help prevent the unthinkable from happening."

    Each year, more than 10,000 missing persons cases are reported to North Carolina's Center for Missing Persons, which is overseen by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in the Department of Public Safety.

    While many of North Carolina's missing cases are teen runaways who do return to their families, hundreds of children remain missing. Asha Degree of Shelby, Devin Willard of Lexington, Andrea Wildcatt of Gastonia, and Andre Thompson of Durham are among the children of our state who are currently missing. Despite the numbers and harrowing stories, some missing children are indeed found and returned safely to their families. Just last July, a child who was missing for more than a year was found safely in Georgia, thanks to cooperation among law enforcement agencies across multiple jurisdictions.

    Some missing persons cases can begin with an online encounter, and law enforcement officers recommend that parents learn the warning signs that could indicate their child is being groomed by predators met online.

    "Stranger danger applies to the Internet just as much as the playground, so parents must talk to their children about digital safety," Mrs. Cooper said.

    The NC Center for Missing Persons is a statewide resource for information on missing children and adults. The program issues AMBER and Silver Alerts for North Carolina and coordinates law enforcement efforts in missing persons searches. The AMBER Alert system is activated when a child is believed to be abducted by a stranger, or in danger of injury or death; the Silver Alert system is activated when a person is missing and believed to be suffering from dementia or a cognitive impairment.

    More information about the NC Center for Missing Persons is available online here.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov