Jayme Closs has been found, but nearly 50 other children missing from Wisconsin need your help

Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

In January 2019, Jayme Closs was joyously reunited with her family, but many other families in Wisconsin are still hoping their missing children will come home.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) maintains a database of missing kids. There are currently about 50 children from Wisconsin who have been reported missing. Some of the kids have been missing for just weeks, some of them, years.

"What happens with a story like this, children naturally start asking who else is missing. Are there other children out there with this situation,” said Angeline Hartmann, director of media for the NCMEC. “Sadly, I can tell you right now, there is a child who is being held against their will in a similar situation."

The organization works to bring awareness to every missing child, even though some cases (like Jayme Closs’) get more attention from the media.

Related: Follow our coverage of the Jayme Closs case

There’s a simple thing you can do to help: “Getting the child’s photo out there is the No. 1 way to bring a child home,” Hartmann said. “The more people who share the child’s image the higher chances there are to get that child recovered.”

Check NCMEC’s web database of missing children, at missingkids.org, or review the photos and information here. Study the photos, read the information about the children and share it with others.

Click on the “more info” link in this list to go to the poster made by NCMEC for each child. The posters include information on who the children might be with or where they might be located, if that is known.

The list below updates regularly, so check back to see what has changed. Or visit missingkids.org.

NCMEC works with local law enforcement to find children. Hartmann said some of these kids are hiding in plain sight. Some runaways appear more than once in the list, if they have run away from home more than once in a year.

NCMEC also aims to identify unknown children who have been found dead. The organization tries to give these children a name and provide closure for families. Those children found in Wisconsin are included below.

Related: Missing in Milwaukee: What you need to know about reporting a child or adult missing

If you do recognize a child, call 1-800-THE-LOST and local law enforcement.

The organization’s helpline is open 24-7.

"There are families across America that are hoping for the same outcome for their missing child,” Hartmann said. “They are so happy for Jayme that she was found alive, but there are thousands of other families who are watching this happen. They're happy but it’s also emotional for them; they are waiting for a day like this, for their missing child to come home.”