Vermont Missing Children

In Vermont a missing child is reported to the town or city police, the county sheriff or, across most of the state's rural towns, the Vermont State Police, which runs the state's AMBER Alert plan and its missing persons file. Here too, in Vermont, a national posting through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children follows when the case is in the FBI's database and the family or the police ask for it, so it is not automatic. There is no waiting period. Vermont law requires the report to be taken at once and the child entered into the FBI's national database.

Vermont's AMBER Alerts are rare, a handful in the program's history, and most missing child cases in the state are runaways or children lost outdoors, where the State Police search and rescue team and the volunteer search groups take the lead.

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

• Vermont Missing Child SearchOnline Search
• Vermont Child Amber AlertAmber Alert Program
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingInformation for Parents
• Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task ForceInternet Safety
• Family AbductionsAbduction Prevention
• Vermont Missing Kids MapMap of Missing Children
• Missing Kids in VermontVermont Missing Kids
• Bennington County Sheriffs Department
• Chittenden County Sheriffs Department
• Franklin County Sheriffs Office
• Rutland County Sheriffs Department
• Windham County Sheriffs Department

The Vermont 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 Agency of Transportation highway signs on Interstates 89 and 91, and it is shared with New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts and the Quebec border crossings. In Vermont, cases that fall short of the abduction standard can be publicized as a missing endangered person bulletin.

• Vermont State PoliceAMBER Alert activations and the Vermont missing persons file, 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 Vermont State Police 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 report goes to the local police, the county sheriff or the nearest State Police barracks. The same holds in Vermont: get the case number, ask whether the child is in the National Crime Information Center yet, and call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as the next step. Burlington, Rutland and South Burlington police have their own detectives for missing children.

• Vermont Police DepartmentsTown and city police departments that take missing child reports
• Vermont County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 14 counties
• Vermont Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

Vermont's alert for missing seniors and adults with cognitive impairment goes out through the same State Police channel, and the state's Blue Alert covers suspects who have injured or killed a law enforcement officer. Here too, in Vermont, the investigating agency keeps the case file. Under the Vermont Public Records Act, basic incident facts are public while records of an ongoing investigation can be withheld, and juvenile records are confidential. The same holds in Vermont: NamUs, the federal missing and unidentified persons database, lists a long term case once the investigating agency enters it and approves the public listing, and participation is voluntary in most states.

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

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