The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is grateful to the many individuals who have given their time, talents, and energy to developing this Guide. First produced in 1998, the publication has been a valuable resource for parents and families who have experienced a missing child. Since it was first written, many parents who know firsthand the anguish, and hope, involved in finding a missing child have provided important advice to ensure this Guide offers indispensable information. We especially want to thank the following parents who were instrumental in this update:
Yvonne Ambrose, mother of Desiree
Elaine Hall, mother of Dylan
Noelle Hunter, mother of Maayimuna, “Muna”
Jeffery Morehouse, father of Atomu Imoto, “Mochi”
Colleen Nick, mother of Morgan
Ahmad Rivazfar, father of Sara
Nacole Svendgard, mother of Jessika
Patty Wetterling, mother of Jacob
More details about the parents and their children can be found in the About the parents and their children section.
This Guide has been a labor of love for these parents of missing children, who are dedicated to giving other parents hope and encouragement even when life is at its darkest point. Their words, courage, and strength are greatly admired.
OJJDP also thanks the many professionals serving with the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) and the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) of Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), as well as those from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The dedicated employees, associates, and volunteers who give their time and effort to finding missing children, preventing child abduction, and supporting families with endangered missing children form the very bedrock of the Department of Justice’s initiatives to protect children.
OJJDP recognizes and appreciates the efforts of the Family Survival Guide project team who supported the contributing families through the development of this publication’s fifth edition. They diligently and carefully crafted and edited this document and its related web-based resource content to ensure it provides, both now and in the future, the information families desperately need when they find themselves in the crisis of a missing child.
Helen Connelly, Program Administrator (Ret.) and NCJTC-FVTC Associate Employee
Bonnie Ferenbach, Program Manager, AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, NCJTC-FVTC
Charles Fleeger, NCJTC-FVTC Associate Employee; AMBER Alert Coordinator, Brazos Valley, Texas
Stacie Lick, NCJTC-FVTC Associate Employee; Captain and Child Abduction Response Team Coordinator, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey
Denise Gee Peacock, Project Coordinator, AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, NCJTC-FVTC
Blaine Phillips, NCJTC-FVTC Associate Employee; Agent in Charge, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
Janell Rasmussen, Program Administrator, AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, NCJTC-FVTC
This Guide is dedicated to all of the children who are separated from their families. Our hope is that you know the search will continue until you are found.
for filming to illuminate information presented in the Guide. Top row, from left: Bonnie Ferenbach, Denise Gee Peacock, and Helen Connelly. Middle row, from left: Patty Wetterling, Nacole Svendgard, Yvonne Ambrose, and Janell Rasmussen. Bottom row, from left: Ahmad Rivazfar, Dr. Noelle Hunter, Jeffery Morehouse, and Elaine Hall. Also pictured from the Whitecap Interactive production crew are Nicole Pena and Brian Thurber. Not pictured is family member Colleen Nick, who was unable to attend the filming event.