How closely will the police search for your missing child? It depends on their age.

Law enforcement agencies across the country operate under a set of rules that determine how intensively they search for missing children. The level of effort often depends on the age of the child or the discretion of the officer. As a result, children of the same age may disappear under similar circumstances and receive very different responses from the police.

USA TODAY analyzed the standard operating procedures of more than 50 law enforcement agencies. Here's what we found:

In dozens of cities and towns, the child's age alone can put him or her at the bottom of the priority list.

Full investigation: Missing children do not always receive urgent police attention

More than 60 percent of agencies reviewed by USA TODAY set a maximum age at which missing children are considered “critical” or “at risk.”

• Children in these categories deserve thorough investigation regardless of the circumstances.

• Age limits vary considerably between departments.

• In Louisville, for example, the threshold is 10. For the New Hampshire State Police, it is 17. This means that an 11-year-old missing in Louisville would generally attract less attention from law enforcement. order that a 16-year-old from New Hampshire. .

If children exceed the age limits, their case requires special circumstances that justify additional efforts. Examples include:

• A health problem that requires medication

• A drug addiction

• Absence incompatible with normal behavior

• Circumstances that lead police to believe they are at risk

• Indications of a life-threatening situation

How quickly and thoroughly law enforcement responds to a missing child can make a crucial difference in the outcome.

• The longer children go missing, the more harm they are likely to experience.

• A 2006 study by the Washington State Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice examined the cases of nearly 800 missing children found murdered. In 76% of cases, the child was killed within three hours. In 88.5% of cases, they were killed during the day.

Contact Gina Barton at (262) 757-8640 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @writerbarton.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police in different cities treat missing children differently depending on their age.