Thousands of Ohio children went missing last year

SANDUSKY — A recently released report from the Ohio Attorney General's Office shows that nearly 19,000 children were reported missing in Ohio last year. The annual Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse report for 2019 shows 18,638 went missing last year, down slightly from 2018's total of 19,879. Of the children who went missing in 2019, nearly 98 percent of them were found safe by the end of the year. But six children were found dead. In 2018, two children died, according to the report. Provided graphic/OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE Statewide data showed the vast majority of missing children reports — 10,598 — involved runaways, according to the report. Abductions were less common; 29 children were reported abducted by a non-custodial parent and two were abducted by a stranger. There were an additional 21 abduction attempts involving 12 girls and nine boys, the report states. Of those, 45 percent of the attempted abductions occurred when a child was walking to, or from, school. The figures These are the amount of missing children reported in local counties last year: • Erie County: 95 • Sandusky County: 22 • Huron County: 16 • Ottawa County: 8