Musicians team up to create a video that shares images of missing children based on the viewer's zip code.
“Runaway Train 25” music video project aims to help missing children. In Colorado, there are over 8,000 children reported missing every year.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a nonprofit that works to help runaways and missing children all over the United States. The NCMEC teamed up with a group of music artists to remix a song called “Runaway Train,” originally produced 25 years ago with artist Soul Asylum, featuring photos of missing kids. The remix featured artists Jamie N Commons, Skyler Grey, and Gallant.
The idea behind the video is to make it the “milk carton of the 21st Century”, helping to locate and reunite missing kids with those who love them. The NCMEC hopes to use the power of technology and harness social media to help locate as many missing children as they can. As the NCMEC says, it takes just one person to help a missing child.
When watching the video, pictures of missing children in the viewer's area will be shown using their zip code. Viewers do not have to enter any information; the site will automatically use user location information for each unique area. The NCMEC chose to use this technology and strategy because data shows that 61 percent of missing children are found in the state they went missing from.
In Denver, Colorado, the video features six missing children—one who has been gone without any clues for over 30 years. Depending on where you live, the video will feature different children. Please watch here for the video in your area and share to help increase the chances of bringing these children home.
According to the FBI, there were 421,391 missing children reported to the NCMEC in 2019. Currently, the NCMEC has 81 children listed as open missing person cases in Colorado. In 2019, Colorado received 8,193 reports of missing children, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI). Of the cases in 2019, CBI reports that 50 percent were resolved, 28 percent due to the child returning voluntarily, and 22 percent were resolved by law enforcement.
NCMEC also has a feature where those looking for missing children can create a video about them, up to six children can be featured in each video.
Please watch Runaway Train 25 and help bring home as many missing kids as possible.