Our Busiest Month Ever

Our Busiest Month Ever

In July, Finding Kids took on a record 14 new cases of missing children across eight counties in the Bay Area and northern Nevada. It was our busiest month ever—a reflection of both the crisis and our growing capacity to meet it. As of this morning, 12 of those children are home safe. One of them was an 11-year-old girl lured through Roblox by a predator who groomed her over several weeks before convincing her to meet. He took her to a motel and assaulted her.

Our cyber team worked through the night, building an intelligence packet that helped lead to her safe recovery the next day and the suspect’s arrest by local police. Predators target vulnerable children because the payoff is high and the risk is low. As one trafficker put it: “It’s easy now. The culture has already groomed the kids for us.” To stop them, we must raise the stakes. That means increasing the risk of being caught and rebuilding a culture that treats the innocence of childhood as sacred. Earlier this year, Finding Kids partnered with the Fresno Police Department to launch a 24/7 predator-targeting pilot focused on a single geography. In just three months, it led to seven trafficker arrests. And we’re just getting started. This year we are preparing to scale this program to additional police departments and counties ready to partner with us.

To learn more about what you can do locally, contact your Finding Kids County Champion, or send an email to info@findingkids.org

Today, predators can reach vulnerable children through phones, social media, gaming platforms, and the internet, often before families realize something is wrong. Finding Kids responds through three core programs: Recover. Care. Target. We help locate missing and exploited children, support families during and after recovery, and work with law enforcement to identify and disrupt those who exploit youth. Our work continues after a child is found because recovery is only the beginning. By combining investigations, aftercare, and prevention, we help children return safely to their homes, schools, and communities while building a future where every vulnerable child receives help before crisis becomes exploitation. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly towards keeping kids safe. We cannot do this work without your support.

*Names has been changed to protect the victim’s identity.