Mahoning County in top 10 most missing children in Ohio

(WKBN) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse's 2023 report Friday, and Mahoning County ranked among the top 10 counties for the largest number of missing children.

The figures were released in recognition of National Missing Children's Day, which occurs annually on May 25.

The Ohio counties with the highest number of missing child reports are:

1. Franklin County: 3,252
2. Cuyahoga County: 2,959
3. Montgomery County: 2,691
4. Hamilton County: 1,497
5. Summit County: 821
6. Mahoning County: 541
7. Butler County: 391
8. Lorain County: 285
9. Clark County: 208
10. Richland County: 191

Also in First News' coverage area, Columbiana County reported 74 missing children and Trumbull County reported 189.

The information center recorded 22,374 missing people in 2023, 1,757 more than the previous year. Among them, 17,405 concerned missing children, 1,950 more than the previous year.

Authorities said 98 percent of missing children were found safe by the end of the year. Open source data revealed that five of the missing children were found dead in 2023.

The report also details the circumstances leading to the report's disappearance:

• 9,469 cases involved runaways, where a child leaves a home without permission and spends the night away.
• 35 cases involved noncustodial parent abduction, where a parent, other family member, or other person acting on behalf of a parent keeps or hides a child, depriving another person of custody or visitation rights .
• 15 cases concerned kidnapping by a stranger.