Guide
New Hampshire Missing Children at a Glance
A missing child in New Hampshire is reported to the town or city police, or to the New Hampshire State Police in towns without a department, and the State Police runs the state's AMBER Alert plan and its missing persons clearinghouse. National publicity comes from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which posts the case with the family's or the agency's permission once it is in the FBI's database. There is no waiting period. New Hampshire law requires the report to be taken at once and the child entered into the FBI's national database.
New Hampshire's county sheriffs serve process and transport prisoners and do not take missing person reports, so the first call is to the local police or the State Police, and in the White Mountains the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department leads searches for lost hikers and children.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
New Hampshire Statewide Missing Children Search
- Missing children from New Hampshire, NCMECNCMEC case search for children missing from New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Missing Children Information ClearinghouseMissing Children Clearinghouse
- What To Do If Your Child Is MissingMissing Children Assistance
- New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against ChildrenInternet Safety
- NCMEC map of long term missing and unidentified childrenNational map; zoom in to New Hampshire
- Family Advocacy Services
- Missing Kids in New HampshireNew Hampshire Missing Kids
Guide
How AMBER Alerts work in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire State Police activates an AMBER Alert at the request of the investigating agency when a child under 18 has been abducted, is believed to be in danger of serious harm or death, and there is enough information about the child, the abductor or a vehicle to help the public. The alert reaches radio and television through the Emergency Alert System, phones through the wireless emergency alert system, and the highway signs run by the Department of Transportation on Interstate 93 and the turnpikes. Because most of the state's people live within an hour of Massachusetts and Maine, alerts are shared with both states as a matter of routine.
Guide
New Hampshire missing children clearinghouse and how to report
The New Hampshire State Police Missing Persons Unit is the state clearinghouse. It keeps the statewide file of missing children and adults, posts case listings with photos, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and its Major Crime Unit joins when an abduction is suspected. The local police or the State Police, whichever covers the place the child was last seen, is the first stop. In New Hampshire, ask for the case number and for confirmation that the child is in the National Crime Information Center, and then contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Manchester and Nashua police have their own detectives for missing children.
Guide
Other New Hampshire alerts and where the records go
New Hampshire's Silver Alert covers missing seniors and adults with cognitive impairment, and the State Police can issue a missing endangered person bulletin for a child whose case does not meet the AMBER standard. The state's Blue Alert covers attacks on law enforcement officers. Case records stay with the investigating department. Under New Hampshire's Right to Know Law, the basic facts of a report are public while investigative records can be withheld while a case is open, and juvenile records are confidential. A case that stays open can be added to NamUs, the national missing and unidentified persons database, when the investigating agency enters it, and the public can search the entries the agency chooses to publish in New Hampshire.
Guide
Federal & National Authoritative Sources
Straight answers
New Hampshire Missing Children, questions
Who takes a missing child report in New Hampshire?
The town or city police department, or the New Hampshire State Police in towns without their own department. County sheriffs do not take missing person reports. There is no waiting period.
Who issues AMBER Alerts in New Hampshire?
The New Hampshire State Police, at the request of the investigating agency, when a child under 18 has been abducted and is in danger and there is enough information to broadcast.
What if a child is lost hiking in the White Mountains?
Call 911. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department leads search and rescue in the mountains and works with the local police and State Police from the first report.