Wisconsin Missing Children

A missing child in Wisconsin is reported to the city or village police or the county sheriff, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice coordinates the case through its Division of Criminal Investigation, which issues AMBER Alerts and keeps the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults. Once the child is in the FBI's database and a parent, guardian or the police agree, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can add the case to its national posters and search in Wisconsin. There is no waiting period, and Wisconsin law requires the child to be entered into the FBI's national database at once.

Wisconsin's alerts go out through the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, which also carries the Silver Alert for seniors and the Green Alert for missing veterans at risk, a program Wisconsin created in 2018, ahead of other states.

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

• NCMEC missing child searchNational search of missing child posters
• Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing Children and AdultsMissing Children and Adults Clearinghouse
• Wisconsin Child Amber AlertWisconsin Amber Alert Program
• What To Do If Your Child Is MissingInformation for Parents
• Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task ForceInternet Safety
• Family AbductionsAbduction Prevention
• Missing Kids in WisconsinWisconsin AMBER Alert site
• Children's rules of safety

Wisconsin county sheriffs

The Wisconsin Department of Justice 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 Crime Alert Network's subscribers, and it is shared with Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. In Wisconsin, cases that fall short of the abduction standard can be publicized as an endangered missing person advisory.

• Wisconsin Department of JusticeAMBER, Silver and Green Alert activations and the Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults

The Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults in the Division of Criminal Investigation keeps the statewide file of missing children and adults, posts case listings with photos, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and helps local agencies with long term cases. Start with the local 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. Wisconsin is no different: the next call is to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Milwaukee and Madison police have their own missing persons units, and the Department of Justice's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force works on cases involving Native people.

• Wisconsin Police DepartmentsCity and village police departments that take missing child reports
• Wisconsin County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices for all 72 counties
• Wisconsin Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants

The Silver Alert covers missing seniors and adults with cognitive impairment, the Green Alert covers missing veterans and service members at risk because of a service related condition, and the Blue Alert covers suspects who have injured or killed a law enforcement officer, all through the Crime Alert Network. Case records stay with the investigating agency. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law, basic incident facts are public while investigative records can be withheld while a case is open, and juvenile records are confidential. Wisconsin is no different: 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
• Wisconsin Criminal RecordsCriminal history and court records in Wisconsin

• 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