There were 237 parental abductions in Canada in 2009. A message board flashes an Amber Alert after three children were kidnapped by their father in Georgia in January 2004. John Spink/Atlanta Journal Constitution/Associated Press

"Don't talk to strangers." It's probably the first thing that pops into your mind when you're thinking of what to say to help your children be street-smart. Unfortunately, it's not enough.

In most missing child cases, the danger comes from someone the child and/or the parents know.

In 2009, the most recent year for which the RCMP has statistics, there were 237 parental abductions in Canada, compared to 50 stranger abductions, according to an annual report released by the RCMP's National Missing Children Services agency. According to the agency, children under the age of 12 are most vulnerable to parental abductions.

The agency reported the following:

• Forty-one per cent of children taken in parental abduction cases were under the age of five.
• Thirty-one per cent of parental abduction cases involved children age six to 11.
• Twenty-eight per cent of cases involved children and teens age 12 to 17.

Stranger abductions involve cases in which children are abducted by someone other than their parent or guardian. So the stranger could be a close friend, neighbour, uncle, grandparent or another family member. In 2009, 28 females and 22 males were abducted by 'strangers.' Seventy-one per cent of the children were taken from their family or foster home.

Number of missing children in Canada

Year	Kidnap	PA	Run	Unknown	Acc	Wander	Other	Total
2009	50	237	35,768	11, 757	25	432	2,223	50,492
2008	56	300	40, 289	12, 441	37	560	2,419	56,102
2007	56	285	46,189	11,216	33	576	2,227	60,582
2006	46	326	46,728	10,761	24	567	2,009	60,461
2005	30	349	51,280	12,079	45	704	2,061	66,548

Kidnap= kidnapping/stranger abduction PA=parental abduction Run=runaways Acc= accident Wander =Wandered

Missing children in 2009 by province

Profile	Yukon	Northwest Territories	Nunavut	B.C.	Alta.	Sask.	Man.
Stranger	0	0	0	16	6	1	3
Accident	0	0	0	6	1	2	0
Wandered	0	0	0	94	64	18	24
Parental	0	1	0	37	13	14	16
Runaway	3	11	0	4,757	4,456	2,149	3,435
Unknown	2	5	0	4,759	573	779	730
Other	0	3	0	679	59	30	38
Totals	5	19	0	10,348	5,172	2,993	4,246

Profile	Ont.	Que.	N.B.	P.E.I.	N.S.	N.L.	Totals
Stranger	11	7	2	0	1	3	50
Accident	11	1	0	0	0	4	25
Wandered	209	12	2	0	8	1	432
Parental	94	56	2	1	3	1	237
Runaway	13,634	5,183	618	20	1,336	166	35,768
Unknown	3,065	1,638	58	5	75	68	11,757
Other	835	518	4	1	51	5	2,223
Totals	17,859	7,415	686	27	1,474	248	50,492

Source: Canadian Police Information Centre via RCMP's National Missing Children Services

Tips for parents

National Missing Children Services has compiled a series of tips for parents and guardians that includes the following:

• Ensure that children know their name, address, telephone number, parents' names and places of work. They should also know how to call 911 in an emergency. This information should be reviewed regularly.
• Young children should hold hands with their parents when walking and should be discouraged from wandering away.
• Encourage kids to travel in groups.
• Demand that children check with a parent before accepting gifts or rides from someone, even acquaintances and family friends. Create a family code word that signals to the child it is OK to be picked up by another adult in the event of an emergency.
• Tell children it's OK to say "no" and respond loudly and physically if someone tries to take them against their will.

Tips for kids

Child Find Canada has the following nine rules for kids to learn:

I always:

• Get permission before going somewhere.
• Say no to drugs.
• Trust my inner feelings.

If:

• I go somewhere, I always use the buddy system.
• Someone touches me that makes me feel uncomfortable, I tell someone I trust.
• I'm scared and need help, I can call "0" (operator) or 911.

I never:

• Keep secrets that make me feel bad.
• Accept gifts or money without first checking with my parents.
• Accept car rides unless I have permission from my parents.