Preventing Child Disappearances a must 

A missing child is more than a family tragedy; it is a test of how safely society protects its most vulnerable. Behind every number is a childhood suddenly severed from home, school and familiar faces.

Between January and July 2026, 15,717 children were reported missing in Bangladesh, according to Police Headquarters. Of them, 13,679 were rescued or returned, while 2,038 remain untraced. Among those aged 0 to 9, 68 remain missing out of 474 cases. Of 15,243 adolescents aged 10 to 17, 1,970 remain untraced.

The figures reflect a continuing concern. Missing person GDs rose from 17,808 in 2023 to 16,414 in 2024 and 22,550 in 2025. Easier digital reporting may partly explain the rise, as cases that once went unrecorded are now entering official statistics. Yet each unresolved case leaves a question that numbers cannot answer: where is the child?

The risks range from accidental separation and family conflict to abduction, trafficking, forced begging, child marriage and exploitation. Younger children can disappear in crowded places; adolescents may leave home under academic pressure, punishment, poverty, abuse or family discord. Online contact has also opened another door to deception and exploitation.

Bangladesh has strengthened its response through the MUN Alert system, operated by the CID Missing Children Cell, while police urge families to file a GD immediately. The 999 emergency service and 109 child helpline can be used to report danger or seek assistance. Recent cases also show the value of CCTV and rapid police intervention.

The Children Act 2013 places clear protective duties on the state and provides child friendly procedures and penalties for cruelty, abandonment and exploitation. It also requires people who reasonably believe a child is a victim or witness of crime to notify the child affairs police officer, probation officer or social worker.

But law alone cannot bring every child home. Parents must build trust, teach children their names, addresses and emergency numbers, monitor online interactions and notice sudden changes in behaviour. Schools and communities must treat warning signs seriously rather than dismissing them as youthful rebellion.

The state must ensure that every police station responds without delay, strengthen specialised child protection units, expand technology based searches and pursue trafficking networks. Society, meanwhile, must refuse to look away. A childhood should not disappear into a statistic. Every missing child is a call to bring home not merely a person, but a future.