Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - In Saxony-Anhalt, almost 60 children are missing. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) announced this on Tuesday on request. As of May 23, 57 children under the age of 14 were reported missing. Across Germany, the number of missing children was over 1,600. In addition to permanent outliers, the cases that have not yet been clarified also include child abductions and unaccompanied refugee children who have disappeared from their accommodation. Overall, the proportion of children's fates that cannot be clarified even after a long time is very small.
The oldest case of a child still missing in the Germany-wide BKA file dates back to 1964. According to the information, there are various reasons for the disappearance of children and young people - such as problems at school or with their parents as well as lovesickness. Or parents fought over custody. The numbers could vary daily.
With the “Day of Missing Children” this Wednesday, information is to be given about preventive care options. In Germany, the day has been taken up by the Missing Children Initiative since 2003. It is intended to remind people that there are always cases in which the whereabouts and fate of children are unclear. The day is intended to give hope to parents who are missing a child or to the missing children themselves. According to the BKA, the clear-up rate for missing children in Germany is around 97 percent annually.
