Investigations

Child Abductions

In 1932, Congress gave the FBI jurisdiction under the “Lindbergh Law” to immediately investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child of “tender age”—usually 12 or younger. There does not have to be a ransom demand nor does the child have to cross state lines or be missing for 24 hours before the FBI will become involved.

Our field offices respond to cases involving the mysterious disappearance of a child. All reports of circumstances indicating that a minor may have been abducted are given an immediate preliminary inquiry to evaluate evidence, circumstances, and information. If a case is found to be warranted under federal law, we will immediately open an investigation in partnership with state and local authorities.



Child abductions by strangers are often complex and time is of the essence. FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) teams are deployed soon after an abduction has been reported to a local FBI field offices, to FBI Headquarters, or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or in other cases when the FBI determines an investigation is warranted.



Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations

Child sexual exploitation investigations—many of them undercover—are conducted in FBI field offices by Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which combine the resources of the FBI with those of other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Each of the FBI’s 56 field offices has worked investigations developed by the Crimes Against Children program, and many of our Legal Attaché offices have coordinated with appropriate foreign law enforcement partners on international investigations. Several of these investigations are also worked in coordination with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, which are funded by the Department of Justice. Furthermore, the FBI supports training for federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies involved in these investigations.

Child Sex Tourism

The FBI, in conjunction with domestic and international law enforcement partners, investigates U.S. citizens and permanent residents who travel overseas to engage in illegal sexual conduct with children under the age of 18. These crimes are exacerbated by the relative ease of international travel and the use of the Internet as a platform for individuals exchanging information about how and where to find child victims in foreign locations.

International Parental Kidnapping

The FBI investigates when a parent or guardian removes a child from the United States, attempts to do so, or retains a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. Our field offices across the country serve as the primary points of contact for those seeking help. To request assistance or learn more about our services, please contact a member of the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in your local FBI office.



When a child is abducted by a parent or guardian and taken outside the United States, one criminal and one civil option may be pursued:

The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993: A criminal arrest warrant can be issued for a parent or guardian who takes a juvenile under 16 outside of the United States without the other custodial parent’s permission.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction: In nations that have signed the Hague Convention, there is a civil process that facilitates the return of abducted children under 16 to their home countries.



The criminal process enables the arrest of the abducting parent or guardian but does not specifically order the return of the child, although the child is usually returned when the parent is apprehended. The civil process, on the other hand, facilitates the return of the child but does not pursue the arrest or return of the abductor. As a result, a criminal process would not be pursued if circumstances indicate it will jeopardize an active Hague Convention civil process.

Based on these considerations, we pursue criminal action in international parental kidnappings on a case-by-case basis. We take into account all the factors and guidance among the impacted state and federal law enforcement agencies, state and/or federal prosecutors, the Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the searching parent.



It’s important to understand that the FBI has no investigative jurisdiction outside the United States, except on the high seas and other locations specifically granted by Congress. We work through our existing partnerships with international authorities through the U.S. Department of State, our Legal Attaché program, and Interpol.



If you are the searching parent, please see the Department of Justice’s International Parental Kidnapping webpage for more information.



More on the Hague Convention



To assist with the recovery of children abducted internationally, the United States implemented federal legislation under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act by signing the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in 1988. The Hague Convention is an agreement among its signatories that states: A child under 16 years of age who is habitually resident in a country party to the Hague Convention, and who is removed to or retained in another country party to the Convention in breach of the searching parent’s custody rights, shall be promptly returned to the country of habitual residence.



Signatory countries of the treaty are obligated, with certain limited exceptions and conditions, to return an internationally abducted child under 16 to the country from which they habitually reside if an application to the Hague Convention is made within one year from the date of the wrongful abduction. The Hague Convention only applies to abductions between countries who have signed the treaty.



The U.S. Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues, has been designated as the Central Authority under the Hague Convention for the United States. Questions concerning the Hague Convention should be addressed to:



U.S. Department of State

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Office of Children’s Issues

CA/OCS/CI

SA-17, 9th Floor

Washington, D.C. 20522-1709

Phone: (888) 407-4747; (202) 501-4444

Fax: (202) 736-9132

Web Address: travel.state.gov/content/childabduction/en.html



For more information about our current parental abduction cases and to help us find these children, see Wanted by the FBI Parental Kidnapping.



Our authority in parental kidnapping cases stems from the Fugitive Felon Act. Although this statute most commonly applies to fugitives who flee interstate and/or internationally, Congress has specifically declared that the statute is also applicable in cases involving interstate or international parental kidnapping. Because many fugitives flee with their own children, the statute serves as an effective means for the FBI to help local and state law enforcement arrest these fugitives.



In order for the FBI to assist with an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution arrest warrant, the following criteria must be met: