FBI as a Resource
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is one of the resources available to your law enforcement agency during the investigation of Non-Family ("Stranger") and International Parental Abductions.
In a non-family child abduction, the first few hours are the most critical for the successful recovery of the child. The investigating agency should have a pre-planned response and use every resource available during that critical time. Available free of charge to law enforcement, the FBI's Child Abduction Response Plan (CARP) contains detailed guidance through the investigative phases of a non-family child abduction, including Initial Response, Neighborhood Investigation, Victimology, Crime Scenes, Command Post, Case Management, Media Strategy, and Technical Support. Also included are forms containing standardized questions for several topics, including neighborhood investigation, road block canvass, and victimology. The FBI can also provide resources such as Special Agents and Intelligence Analysts, Evidence Response Team (ERT), Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST), profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), polygraph examiners, victim specialists, and access to resources within other FBI offices located throughout the US and internationally.
Additionally, the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) Team is available at no charge to respond to active non-family abductions and provide immediate resources and guidance. CARD plays a supporting role to the investigative agency and will deploy several agents and analysts to your command post, along with BAU and CAST personnel.
In Parental Child Abduction cases where the subject and victim/s travel internationally, the FBI has concurrent jurisdiction to investigate through the International Parental Kidnapping Act (see Title 18 Section 1204). FBI agents who work overseas, known as Legal Attaches, are assigned to approximately 60 offices internationally that cover over 200 countries. Contact your local FBI Field Office, who will coordinate with the appropriate Legal Attache.
For more information, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/vcac, or contact your local FBI Field Office (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices).
