National Missing Children's Day has been commemorated in the United States on May 25, since 1983, when it was first proclaimed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. It falls on the same day as the

International Missing Children's Day International Missing Children's Day is an international day celebrated on May 25, the same day as the United States' National Missing Children's Day designated by Ronald Reagan in 1983. Background Launched in 1998 as a joint venture of the Inte ...

, which was established in 2001. In the several years preceding the establishment of National Missing Children's day, a series of high-profile missing-children cases made national headlines. On May 25, 1979,

Etan Patz Etan Kalil Patz (; October 9, 1972 – May 25, 1979) was an American boy who was six years old on May 25, 1979, when he disappeared on his way to his school bus stop in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. His disappearance helped launch th ...

was only six years old when he disappeared from his

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

home on his way from bus to school. The date of his disappearance was designated as National Missing Children's Day. At the time, cases of missing children rarely garnered national media attention, but his case quickly received extensive coverage. His father, a professional photographer, distributed black-and-white photographs of him in an effort to find him. The resulting massive search and media attention that followed focused the public's attention on the problem of child abduction and the lack of plans to address it. For almost three years, media attention was focused on

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where the bodies of young children were discovered in lakes, marshes, and ponds along roadside trails. Twenty-nine bodies were recovered in the

Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 The Atlanta murders of 1979–1981, sometimes called the Atlanta child murders, was a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, between July 1979 and May 1981. Over the two-year period, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were k ...

before a suspect was arrested and convicted.

References

External links

FBI
{{US Holidays May observances Observances in the United States by presidential proclamation Children's Day

See also

References

External links