North Dakota Missing Children

In North Dakota a missing child is reported to the city police, the county sheriff or, on the reservations, the tribal police or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation in the Attorney General's office coordinates the case, issues AMBER Alerts and keeps the state's missing persons clearinghouse. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children adds a poster to its national search when the investigating agency or the family asks, after the case is entered in the FBI's database. There is no waiting period.

North Dakota's missing persons list is small, but Native people appear on it well beyond their share of the population, and the state created a missing persons database and a position in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to work on those cases with the tribes.

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

• North Dakota Missing Child SearchOnline Search
• North Dakota Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenNational Center for Missing Children
• North Dakota Amber Alert Program
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingMissing Children Assistance
• North Dakota Missing Kids Map
• Child Abduction Prevention

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation 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 Department of Transportation highway signs on Interstates 29 and 94, and it is shared with Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana and the Canadian border crossings. Alerts usually cover the whole state because the population is spread thin.

• North Dakota Attorney GeneralThe Bureau of Criminal Investigation, AMBER Alert activations and the missing persons clearinghouse, 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 North Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation keeps the statewide file of missing children and adults, posts a public listing with photos, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and works with the tribal police and the FBI on reservation cases. Report the child to the city police, the county sheriff or the tribal police, note the case number, and confirm the entry into the National Crime Information Center before anything else. Then call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST in North Dakota. Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks police have their own detectives for missing children.

• North Dakota Police DepartmentsCity police departments that take missing child reports
• North Dakota County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 53 counties
• North Dakota Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

North Dakota's Silver Alert covers missing seniors and adults with cognitive impairment, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation can issue an endangered missing person advisory for a child whose case does not meet the AMBER standard. Case records stay with the investigating agency, and on reservations they may sit with the tribe or the FBI. North Dakota's open records law makes basic case facts public while active criminal intelligence and investigative information can be withheld, and juvenile records are confidential. Long term cases can be listed in NamUs, the national missing and unidentified persons database, at the investigating agency's choice, with the public seeing the entries the agency approves in North Dakota.

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

These federal and national sources complement North Dakota's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when North Dakota 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.