Have You Seen Them? 18 Capital Region Missing Children

In 2024, New York State reported 12,114 missing children. About 95% were runaways. By the end of the year, most had been found, but over 1,000 cases were still open.

Albany and Schenectady counties continued to have the highest rates. In March 2025, law enforcement ran a three-day operation and recovered 63 missing kids and teens, ages 2 to 17. Some had been missing for years.

Many of these kids were victims of “romance trafficking,” where someone pretends to care about them, then manipulates and exploits them.

To help kids who go missing repeatedly, Governor Kathy Hochul launched a program called RIPSTOP. It started in Buffalo and connects vulnerable youth with real support, especially those facing trauma or unstable homes.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) worked on over 3,000 cases in New York in 2023 and even made age-progressed images to help find long-missing kids.

Read More: FBI App To Help If Your Child Goes Missing

In 2025, TikTok began showing AMBER Alerts in users’ feeds, bringing vital info about missing kids right to your phone.

We’ve included a gallery of 18 missing children from the Capital Region with this article. Some of these images use age progression technology. Take a look, you might recognize someone and help bring them home.

If you have any information, even something small, call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). It could make a difference.