Event calls attention to Ohio's missing children

May 25, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Children at a capital-city charter school released hundreds of balloons Friday, each with the name of one of 690 missing children attached, to draw attention to Ohio youngsters who have been kidnapped, who have runaway or who have not returned home.

Given the recent rescue of three women in Cleveland who were abducted and confined for a decade, Attorney General Mike DeWine said there is hope that some will be found.

“We’re not giving up hope,” he said. “These are kids who we care about, and they’re out there somewhere. That’s why we put their pictures up on the attorney general’s web page, to let people see those pictures and maybe, maybe, they will see that child.”

The event Friday at the Columbus Preparatory Academy was part of National Missing Children’s Day and coincided with the release of the attorney general’s annual report on the issue.

Last year, more than 19,000 Ohio youngsters were reported missing. The majority (11,721) were categorized as runaways, while another 7,413 were “lost, injured or otherwise missing.” Seventy-two children were taken by family members, and 12 were abducted by nonfamily members.

Of the total, nearly 99 percent were located and recovered safely. The attorney general’s website, www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/missingchildren includes names, pictures and details of nearly 700 others who have not yet been found.

“What Cleveland showed us all is even when 10 years have gone by and we don’t think there’s any chance that person is around or even alive, that in some cases, there still is hope,” DeWine said. “We know that tragedy is out there, but we also know that some of these kids are still alive and some of these kids may return.”