Campaign focuses on missing children

By Lethbridge Herald on November 6, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) is spearheading a campaign this year to recognize November as Runaway Prevention Month. The national campaign focuses attention on prevention, education, and community support for runaway and at-risk youth.

The Missing Children Society of Canada was established in 1986 to help return missing children to a safe environment. It has evolved from being an organization distributing posters to find a missing child, to one embracing the latest technology to help police in the search for that child.

Amanda Pick, CEO of the Missing Children Society of Canada, said when a child goes missing, it affects more than their immediate circle, it affects the community as a whole and that is why they created tools to help communities get involved and have access to missing children reports, and be alert. 

“The Missing Children Society of Canada has partnered with police and created the child search network, the rescue app which allows community members to register for alerts and receive information on missing children cases that do not qualify for the Amber Alert,” said Pick. 

She said one of those cases is the missing six-year-old boy Darius Macdougall, who MCSC has been supporting. 

“What we are recognizing, and what community members are recognizing when a tragic case is that there is a gap between the cases that do not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert and those that do,” said Pick. 

She explained that the criteria for Amber Alert is that it has been deemed an abduction, but with Darius’ case the gap stopped community members from being able to be alerted on time and being able to be aware of it and on the lookout, outside of the search and rescue area. 

“That’s why we created the app. This allows community members to view cases in their area right now, to respond with information and to receive alerts when that threshold is not met,” said Pick. 

She shared that police records show that last year, 32,680 children were reported missing in Canada, and 23,219 were considered runaways. 

“Seventy-seven per cent of the missing children were reported to be between the ages of 14 and 17 years old, and 57 per cent of the runaway youths were female,” said Pick. 

She said one thing they know from the statistics is that those cases will be resolved quickly, with over 90 per cent being found within a week. 

“But what we want people to understand is that when a child is not in a safe place, they are at risk, and that risk can escalate the longer they are missing. Risk looks like exploitation, or violence and other things that will impact them long into their future,” said Pick. 

She said reducing the number of youths who run away starts with recognizing their vulnerabilities and helping protect them before they feel the only solution is to leave a safe environment. And as part of National Runaway Prevention Month, MCSC is sharing resources that focus on prevention and education available to help youth stay safe and connected. 

“It is really important to be able to recognize changes in behaviour in youth as that is one of the main signs that they are at risk of running away,” said Pick. 

To sign up for alerts visit https://rescu.mcsc.ca/ . For more information about National Runaway Prevention Month and the Missing Children Society of Canada, people can call 1-800-661-6160 or email  info@mcsc.ca.