HELLO JI!
DON’T LET GO OF MY HAND
Did you know 34,437 children were reported missing in Canada in 2023? Image credit: NEWS CANADA.
Our son enjoyed playing hide-and-go-seek as a toddler. He’d squeeze his eyes shut, sit as still as a mouse and “hide” in plain sight, waiting with bated breath to be discovered, convinced that if he couldn’t see us, we couldn’t see him. A little giggle would escape now and then as we played along, looking for him.
He graduated to hiding for real as he grew older – and some of those experiences were not fun. I vividly recall the time he vanished on us in a large department store. One moment he was right next to me and the next, nowhere to be seen. We called his name, no response.
Panic set in. Hearts thumping as all sorts of scenarios raced through our minds, we began a storewide search with helpful staff also joining in. Someone suggested we look at CCTV camera footage to see if he’d left the store – the unsaid, that he might have been taken by someone, a palpable fear among us.
And then my husband spotted him, toes peeking from under a rack of clothes. Bored with the shopping, he’d decided to entertain himself with a round of his favourite game.
There was the time he was dared by another kid to run away from home. At the age of six. He was all set with a backpack that had a water bottle, a toy compass and a “map” that was a series of squiggles. Privately rather proud of his packing skills, I suggested it might be prudent to wait until he was old enough to cross a busy street near our home and the story ended with icecream cones for our son and that friend.
All these memories came rushing back as I read a report that began with this question: Did you know 34,437 children were reported missing in Canada in 2023? Almost 26,000 of them were runaways.
The RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR) released their Just the Facts video on the issue of missing children in Canada.
Canadasmissing.ca is Canada’s first national public website designed to solicit tips and information from the public for missing children, missing persons, and unidentified remains cases.
Take a look at the cases and learn how to submit a tip. Even a small detail could be key to bringing another child home. Investigators review every tip that comes in. “They also work diligently with international partners and organizations as borders don’t necessarily matter when looking for a missing child,” said Bryan Larkin, RCMP Deputy Commissioner, Specialized Policing Services.
56% of the 2023 missing children cases were closed within 24 hours.
90% of the 2023 missing children cases were closed within a week.
In our family, I would hold the hand of the littlest member of the family when I entered a crowded space. Until he began wriggling free, saying he was a big boy now.
So I adopted the I’m-the-one-who-needs-help approach and now this is how we keep each other safe.
Happy Father’s Day!
Shagorika Easwar