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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — An average of 500 to 600 kids under the age of 18 go missing each month in Tennessee, many due to parental abductions or runaways, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

 

Their smiling faces circulate across social media and on television screens as their parents wait for answers. The wait can be agonizing, but with today’s technology, it’s often not long before the child is found, said Shelly Smitherman, TBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge.

 

“A lot of times historically, it’s the public that has led to the safe resolve of a case,” Smitherman said. “It just takes that one person to see that story or see that face and remember something or realize that they were present or in the area on the day that child disappeared.” 

 

Unsolved missing child cases in Tennessee date back up to 40 years: Have you seen any of them?
As the coordinator of the state’s AMBER Alert program, Smitherman said social media and other advancements in technology have vastly increased the number of resolved missing child cases, as well as the speed in which they are found. When a child is missing, those seconds matter.

 

“It’s sad, but true. The longer it takes for a case to be resolved, or a child to be found, your chances increase that they may be found deceased or harmed,” Smitherman said. “So, with technology, we’re able to push it out and get them back immediately.”