The odds of being kidnapped are very low, especially by a stranger; for children, it's often cited as around 1 in a million, with most missing children found and the vast majority of kidnappings involving family members (like non-custodial parents) rather than strangers. In countries like Australia, the rate is low (around 2 per 100,000), while in the U.S., stranger abductions are a tiny fraction (around 0.1%) of reported missing persons cases, with most victims being teenagers and many attempts unsuccessful.
Surveys suggest that roughly 1 in every 100 children experiences a stranger trying to lure them away in order to do them harm². Roughly 1 in every 600 children will, at some point in their childhood be made to go with a stranger.
According to data from the 2019 United States Census, people who are Black or African American make up 13.4% of the United States population (QuickFacts). However, nearly 40% of missing persons are people of color (“Statistics,” Black and Missing). Black children make up about 33% of all missing child cases.
Kidnapping fears may be related to an anxiety disorder, or a different type of disorder. Try reading about a few mental disorders, in case one of them sounds familiar. Phobias are specific, irrational fears. There is no name for a kidnapping phobia, but treatment is still possible.
What Are the Rarest Phobias? 10 of the Weirdest Fears
Abducted victims are predominantly females (73%), mostly adults aged 30 or younger (45%) and children (23%).
The targets of hate crime
Of the 11,679 hate crimes reported: 5,866 were on the basis of race. 3,004 against Black people. 797 against Latinx people (the second highest ever recorded).
While it's hard to definitively name the single longest missing child globally due to varying records, Marjorie West, who vanished in 1938 at age 4 in Pennsylvania, USA, holds a strong claim as a very long-term missing child, missing for over 87 years, representing a case that spans decades without resolution. Other prominent long-term cases include Mary Boyle, missing from Ireland since 1977, and Nicole Morin, missing from Canada since 1985, highlighting the enduring mystery in these and countless other unsolved disappearances.
Basic Kidnapping – up to 14 years imprisonment. Aggravated Kidnapping – up to 20 years imprisonment. Specially Aggravated Kidnapping – up to 25 years imprisonment.
“….. A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S., over 2,100 per day. In excess of 800,000 children are reported missing each year; another 500,000 go missing without ever being reported.” - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
Always be alert to your personal security and surroundings. Avoid distractions. Be prepared to stop or take evasive action if you sense danger. Get professional security advice for travel in locations with a heightened kidnap risk.
Most abductions occur at home or within a quarter mile of the home. Women are more likely to commit family child abductions.
Call your local FBI field office or the closest international office. You can also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Victimization rates show clear racial disparities. American Indian people and African Americans are the most likely to be victimized by serious violent offenses, followed by Hispanic people and, finally, by non-Hispanic White and Asian people.
FBI Releases 2024 Hate Crime Statistics
Those agencies reported 11,679 hate crime incidents involving 14,243 victims for calendar year 2024. Below, you will find tables with select high-level hate crime data.
What is a hate crime? A hate crime is any offense committed against you or your property because of your race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Anybody can be a victim.
So: The risk of a minor getting abducted by a stranger? With about 72 million kids 0-17 in America, the odds are about 1 in 720,000, or closing in on 1 in a million.
About Kidnapping
The countries with the highest rates of kidnap are those with weak security infrastructures, high levels of impunity and economic disparity, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria, and those experiencing prolonged conflicts, such as Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Our youth are most susceptible to go missing with a rate six times that of any other age group. Those aged between 13 and 17 account for half of all missing persons reported to police, approximately 19,000 reports each year. There are many reasons why youth go missing.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a specific phobia, meaning that someone with this condition would experience intense, irrational anxiety or fear when faced specifically with the number 666.
1. Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While the phenomenon has happened to everyone at one point or another, people with arachibutyrophobia are extremely afraid of it.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is significantly longer (45 letters) than hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters), though both are very long; the first is a lung disease, and the second ironically means the fear of long words.