Mass Abductions Of VA Children Rumors Spread Online: State Police

Viral claims on social media of mass abductions of children in Virginia are not true, according to Virginia State Police.

State police debunked rumors about the viral social media posts Wednesday, confirming the agency is not investigating and has no evidence of mass abductions in Virginia. Social media speculation has noted that Virginia has significant amounts of missing children reported when compared with neighboring states.

While Virginia appears to have more missing children reported on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids website, there is a reason for it. State police say they forward every missing child case to the center. That may differ from other states, where authorities post to their own online databases.

"According to [National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids], Virginia is the most pro-active in sending cases to their website," state police said in a news release. "Virginia does this to centralize missing children’s cases so they can all be reviewed in one location."

The Numbers on Missing Children in Virginia

During the week of Aug. 3 to 9, there were 88 children reported missing to the Virginia missing children database, according to Virginia State Police. That's just below the 2025 weekly average of 95 children reported missing in Virginia.

Since January, 3,274 children have been reported missing in Virginia, and 141 remained missing as of Wednesday morning. State police indicated that many children reported missing are runaways and are found not long after being reported missing.

Most missing cases are investigated at the local level, state police say. Agencies may request the missing child case be upgraded to a CODI or Amber Alert.

CODI alerts are typically issued for missing children whose whereabouts are unknown and the disappearance is suspicious or a threat to the child's health or safety. Of the 25 CODI alerts issued this year, all the children were found. One of these cases was a missing teen on Monday in Manassas Park found safe not long after the alert.

Amber Alerts are issued for children believed to be abducted, which includes being taken without consent from the child's parent or legal guardian. In these cases, law enforcement believes the missing child is currently in danger of serious injury or death. Amber Alerts are issued when sufficient information is available that the public can use to help locate the missing child, suspect or suspect's vehicle.

There have been two Amber alerts issued in Virginia this year, and both children were found.

Active missing children cases are available on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids website.

Anyone with information on a missing child in Virginia can contact 804-674-2000, 804-674-2026 after business hours, or email VAMissing@vsp.virginia.gov.

Virginia State Police offered the following tips to keep children safe:

• Have your child practice making 9-1-1 calls from both a cell phone and a landline (unplugged or with batteries removed).
• Make sure your child knows not to accept rides from strangers and not to trust a stranger who suggests they go off alone together for any reason, for example, to find a lost puppy, etc.
• Tell your child to let you know immediately if another adult suggests keeping secrets from you.
• Never leave your child alone in the car, even for a minute.