We all see their faces smiling at us-
pictures of missing children in our mail, on our televisions, and on posters in store windows and community bulletin boards.

We have come to realize that many children are missing but we rarely learn what happens to them. On those few occasions when we do, headline news stories tell about a murdered child and a suspect being sought. Other times we rejoice when a child is found alive and is reunited with his or her family. In such cases we see, or imagine, visions of tearful reunions with hugs and kisses. While we wish for happy endings with reunited families living happily ever after, the truth is that the lives of abducted children and their families are changed forever.

Society looks at the child that has been abducted as the only victim. The truth is, the line of victims is long. Victims such as parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends that go to school with the abducted child and the community. When a child has been abducted, the community comes together as if the child is their own. Most families live for the moment they will be reunited with their child. When reunification occurs, certainly one nightmare will end, but it is not the end of the story. The memory of the nightmarish event will follow the families forever. In many cases, children who have been abducted and later reunited with their families pass on their experience with their children. Sometimes this is done by explaining to their children what happened and other times it comes out in their actions. For example, the way they treat their own children...