New Jersey Missing Children

In New Jersey a missing child is reported to the municipal police, and the case is coordinated by the New Jersey State Police, which runs the AMBER Alert plan and the state's Missing Persons Unit, and by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which can post the case nationally with the family's or the police's permission. Nearly every municipality has its own police department, and the State Police patrols the rural townships that do not, so the first call goes to the local department rather than to the county sheriff. There is no waiting period. New Jersey law requires the child to be entered into the FBI's national database at once.

New Jersey adopted its AMBER Alert plan early, in the program's first years, and its version of the second tier, the endangered missing child advisory, covers children whose cases fall short of the abduction standard.

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

• New Jersey Missing Child SearchOnline Search
• New Jersey Missing Persons and Child Exploitation UnitMissing Children Hotline
• National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenNational Center for Missing Children
• New Jersey Amber Alert Plan
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingMissing Children Assistance
• New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force ProgramInternet Safety
• New Jersey Missing Kids Map

The New Jersey 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, the highway signs on the Turnpike, the Parkway and the interstates, and the NJ Transit system. Alerts are shared with New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and with the Port Authority when a bridge, tunnel or airport may be involved.

• New Jersey State PoliceAMBER Alert activations and the Missing Persons Unit, checked September 25, 2026
• National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenNational case posters, the CyberTipline and the 1-800-THE-LOST hotline, checked September 25, 2026
• AMBER Alert national programFederal AMBER Alert coordination, checked September 25, 2026

The New Jersey 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 detectives help municipal departments with abductions and long term cases. The first call goes to the municipal police. Ask for the case number, make sure the child has been entered into the National Crime Information Center, and then call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST in New Jersey. Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden police have their own missing persons investigators, and each county prosecutor's office has detectives who join child abduction cases.

• New Jersey Police DepartmentsMunicipal police departments that take missing child reports
• New Jersey County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 21 counties
• New Jersey Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

New Jersey's Silver Alert covers missing seniors and adults with cognitive impairment, and the State Police issues endangered missing person advisories for children and adults whose cases do not meet the AMBER standard. The state's Blue Alert covers suspects who have injured or killed a law enforcement officer. In New Jersey, case records stay with the investigating department. Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, the basic report is public while criminal investigatory records can be withheld while a case is open, and juvenile records are confidential. In New Jersey, NamUs, the national database of missing and unidentified persons, takes long term cases from agencies that choose to enter them, reviews each entry, and shows the public the cases the agency approves for publication.

• NamUsNational database of missing and unidentified persons, checked September 25, 2026
• New Jersey Criminal RecordsCriminal history and court records in New Jersey

These federal and national sources complement New Jersey's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when New Jersey state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NCMEC, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Congressionally authorized national clearinghouse for missing children. NCMEC operates the 24-hour hotline 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) and the CyberTipline for exploitation reports.

AMBER Alert, U.S. Department of Justice The federally coordinated AMBER Alert network. Each state operates its own plan under DOJ AMBER Alert Program guidance.

NISMART, National Incidence Study OJJDP's periodic survey of missing-child incidence in the United States, the authoritative federal statistical source.