Washington Missing Children

In Washington a missing child is reported to the city police or the county sheriff, and the Washington State Patrol coordinates the case, issues AMBER Alerts and keeps the Missing Children Clearinghouse in its Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit. 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 in Washington. There is no waiting period, and Washington law requires the child to be entered into the FBI's national database at once.

Washington created a Missing Indigenous Person Alert in 2022, ahead of most other states, and it runs an Endangered Missing Person Advisory for children and adults whose cases do not meet the AMBER standard.

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

• Missing children from Washington, NCMECNCMEC case search for children missing from Washington
• Washington Missing Persons Information Center
• Washington's missing childrenMissing children's photos
• Washington law on the missing children clearinghouseRCW 13.60: clearinghouse, hotline and alert plans
• NCMEC missing child searchNational search of missing child posters
• Washington Child Amber AlertWashington Amber Alert Program
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingInformation for Parents
• Family Abduction
• Internet Safety for ParentsInternet Safety Tips for Parents

Washington county sheriffs

The Washington State Patrol 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 Department of Transportation highway signs, and the Washington State Ferries, and it is shared with Oregon, Idaho and the British Columbia border crossings. Cases that fall short of the abduction standard get the Endangered Missing Person Advisory, which goes to media and online without the phone alert.

• Washington State PatrolAMBER Alert, Endangered Missing Person Advisory and Missing Indigenous Person Alert activations and the Missing Children Clearinghouse

The Washington State Patrol Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit keeps the Missing Children Clearinghouse and the statewide file of missing adults and unidentified remains, posts case listings with photos, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and helps local agencies with long term cases. In Washington, the city police or the county sheriff, whichever covers the place the child was last seen, is the first stop. 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. Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane police have their own missing persons units, and the King County sheriff covers much of the Seattle suburbs.

• Washington Police DepartmentsCity police departments that take missing child reports
• Washington County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 39 counties
• Washington Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

The Missing Indigenous Person Alert covers a missing Native person of any age when the circumstances suggest danger, the Silver Alert covers seniors with cognitive impairment, and the Blue Alert covers suspects who have injured or killed a law enforcement officer. Case records stay with the investigating agency, and on reservations they may sit with the tribe or the FBI in Washington. Under the Washington Public Records Act, basic incident facts are public while investigative records can be withheld while a case is open, and juvenile records are confidential. Washington is no different: 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.

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

• 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