Texas Missing Children

Texas runs one of the largest state alert systems in the country. The Texas Department of Public Safety keeps the Missing Persons Clearinghouse and issues AMBER Alerts, and the state has added a family of other alerts over the years, and in 2023, after the death of Athena Strand in Wise County, the legislature passed the Athena Alert law, which allows local AMBER activation before every criterion is verified. In Texas, reports go to the city police or the county sheriff, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can post the case nationally once the police enter it in the FBI's database and the family or the agency agrees. There is no waiting period.

Texas has more than 250 counties and hundreds of city police departments, so the first report goes to the local agency, and the Department of Public Safety takes over the statewide broadcast.

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

• NCMEC missing child searchNational search of missing child posters
• Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
• Texas Amber, Silver and Blue Alert ProgramsAmber and Silver Alert Programs
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingInformation for Parents
• Texas Cyber SafetyCyber safety for parents and children
• Tips from Cyber Smart KidsKids Internet Safety Tips
• Family AbductionsAbduction Prevention
• Missing Kids in TexasTexas Missing Kids
• Jack County Law Enforcement Center

Texas county sheriffs

The Texas Department of Public Safety 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 Texas Department of Transportation highway signs, and the state lottery terminals, and it can be issued regionally for one part of the state or statewide. Alerts near the border are shared with the Mexican authorities. The 2023 Athena Alert law allows local AMBER activation before every criterion is verified; it did not create a separate alert, and the channels and the issuing agency are unchanged.

• Texas Department of Public Safety alertsAMBER, Silver, Blue, Endangered Missing Persons and CLEAR Alert activations

The Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse in the Department of Public Safety keeps the statewide file of missing children and adults and of unidentified remains, posts a searchable public listing with photos, runs the state's missing persons hotline, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and helps local agencies with long term cases. Start with the city police or the county sheriff, get the case number, and check that the child is in the National Crime Information Center, which every police agency in the country can see in Texas. The next call is to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso police have their own missing persons units, and the Texas Rangers join abductions in smaller counties.

• Texas Police DepartmentsCity police departments that take missing child reports
• Texas County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 254 counties
• Texas Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

Beyond the AMBER Alert, Texas issues the Silver Alert for seniors with cognitive impairment, the Endangered Missing Persons Alert for people with intellectual disabilities, the CLEAR Alert for missing adults between 18 and 64 who are in danger, and the Blue Alert for suspects who have injured or killed a peace officer. The records stay with the investigating agency. Under the Texas Public Information Act, basic incident facts are public while records of an active investigation can be withheld, and juvenile records are confidential. Older cases reach NamUs only when the investigating agency or the family submits them and the agency approves publication, so the public NamUs search shows a share of the state's open cases, not all of them.

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

• 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