Quote and Incident Description

"Oh my God, we found a dead body." The man's voice, calling from a mountain trail in Cleveland National Forest, was frantic. "Please hurry. I'm so scared. It's a little kid." When police arrived, they were met by a horrific sight. The girl was naked and had been positioned in such a way that detectives believed the murderer had seen his kill as some kind of a trophy. As if he were showing off his "work". The little kid was Samantha Runnion, a five-year-old girl who had been abducted while playing in her parents' garden the day before.

Background and Statistics

Samantha is just one of too many American kids who disappear. Almost half a million children are reported missing every year. And all across America, parents are searching for their missing children or, if the worst case scenario has come to pass, the person who killed them.

Moms of the Missing

Investigates ten abduction cases. Through personal and heartbreaking interviews with the victims, it describes how parents maintain their hopes of one day finding their children—some of whom were taken by a stranger, a family member, or human traffickers. And two survivors tell what it is like to be held captive, tortured, and raped, but also how they have restored life after being rescued.

Moms of the Missing explores the principal types of abductions, and not least importantly, who's most likely to become a victim of the epidemic of missing children, but also how abductions can be prevented.

Guide to Child Safety

Moms of the Missing is a parent's guide to keeping children safe and puts focus on:

• CHILD PROTECTION
• FAMILY ABDUCTIONS
• STRANGER ABDUCTIONS
• INFANT ABDUCTIONS
• HUMAN TRAFFICKING
• THE SEX OFFENDERS
• ONLINE DANGER
• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
• THE MOST LIKELY VICTIM
• LONG-TERM MISSING
• THE PROFILE OF AN ABDUCTOR
• THE IMPACT OF DNA