Iowa Missing Children

A missing child in Iowa is reported to the local police or county sheriff, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety's Division of Criminal Investigation runs the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse and the state's AMBER Alert plan. Iowa's clearinghouse posts a public list of missing persons with photos, and the state can issue an Endangered Person Advisory for a missing child who does not meet AMBER criteria.

Iowa has no waiting period to report a missing child, and federal law requires the national database entry within two hours.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

• Iowa Missing Person SearchOnline Search
• Missing children from Iowa, NCMECNCMEC case search for children missing from Iowa
• Iowa Department of Public SafetyIowa Missing Children
• Iowa Amber Alert SystemIowa Amber Alert Plan
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingMissing Children Assistance
• Team HOPEAssistance for Families
• Child Abduction PreventionNCMEC abduction prevention guide
• Missing Kids in IowaIowa Missing Kids
• Code AdamRetail Store Program

Iowa's AMBER Alert is activated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety at the request of the investigating agency when a child under 18 has been abducted, is in danger of serious harm or death, and there is enough information about the child, the suspect or a vehicle to broadcast. The Department sends the alert to broadcasters through the Iowa Broadcasters Association, the wireless emergency alert system, Department of Transportation highway signs, the Iowa Lottery network and social media, and coordinates with the six neighboring states.

• Iowa Department of Public Safety AMBER AlertIowa's AMBER Alert plan and active alerts

The Iowa Missing Person Information Clearinghouse within the Division of Criminal Investigation maintains the statewide list of missing children and adults with photos, coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on child cases and with NamUs, and distributes alerts. Start with the local police or the county sheriff and get the case number, then check that the child is in the Iowa Online Warrants and Articles system and the National Crime Information Center, which every police agency in the country can see, and make the next call to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Des Moines Police and the Polk County Sheriff handle the capital region's cases.

• Iowa Missing Person Information ClearinghouseStatewide clearinghouse listings and alert programs
• Iowa Police DepartmentsCity police departments that take missing child reports
• Iowa County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 99 counties
• Iowa Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

Iowa's Endangered Person Advisory covers children and adults in danger without evidence of abduction, and the Department of Public Safety broadcasts it to media and online, while Blue Alerts cover suspects who have harmed an officer. Iowa's Office to Combat Human Trafficking within the Department also reviews missing child cases with trafficking indicators. Case files stay with the investigating agency and can be withheld while the investigation is active under chapter 22 of the Iowa Code, while the clearinghouse listing is public. For a case that stays open, NamUs carries what the investigating agency chooses to enter and publish.

• NamUsNational database of missing and unidentified persons
• Iowa Criminal RecordsCriminal history and court records in Iowa

• National Center for Missing & Exploited ChildrenMissing child posters, reports and the CyberTipline
• AMBER Alert, U.S. Department of JusticeHow AMBER Alerts work and who issues them
• NISMART, national studies of missing childrenDepartment of Justice research on missing children