Around 371 children are currently missing in Bavaria. 86 of them are so-called runaways who repeatedly run away and then come back, the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) reported on Thursday. According to the LKA, 152 of the young missing children disappeared after being taken away from their parents or guardians, for example because of disputes over custody. The number of missing children who are suspected of homicide is in the single digits.
According to the authorities, 126 of the cases involve unaccompanied minor refugees. For many of them, Bavaria is only a stopover, so it is unclear whether a crime is behind the disappearance.
The LKA reported the figures shortly before the International Day of Missing Children on Saturday. Last year, 1,059 children went missing in Bavaria, of which 993 cases were solved. This corresponds to a rate of almost 94 percent. The previous year, the proportion was almost two percentage points lower. The police define children as young people under the age of 14.
If children and young people have left their usual environment and their whereabouts are unknown, the police generally suspect that they are in danger, the LKA said. In such cases, parents should call emergency services immediately. As a result, the police may begin a public search, search known locations and question relatives and friends. All searches in Bavaria are centrally pooled in the LKA’s missing persons department in order to support the local authorities.
Missing Children’s Day has been celebrated since 1983 in memory of a boy from New York who is still missing today. Since the early 2000s, it has also been held in Germany.