For those living in relatively comfortable and secure circumstances, which will probably include many Independent readers, it will surely come as a surprise, if not a shock, to learn that as many as 70,000 children go missing every year. This appalling loss leaves half a million family members and friends confused and bereft. The greater proportion of those who disappear are teenagers, but many are younger, and practically all will be highly vulnerable, especially in the first days after their disappearance. They are at risk of harm, exploitation and homelessness and in urgent need of protection.
For many different reasons, the incidence of missing children has remained largely hidden from view. Both the children and their loved ones find it nigh impossible to reconnect, even if the will is there. It is to highlight this neglected issue and try to change what often seems a hopeless situation for the better that The Independent has chosen Missing People, and specifically its SafeCall project, for its Christmas appeal this year. Missing People is the only charity dedicated to reconnecting missing people with their loved ones, and SafeCall is designed to provide a way of reaching, if not every single missing child, then a far greater proportion than the one in four that Missing People reaches at present.
