Date of Award

Fall 2025

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Sociology

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

David Finkelhor

Second Advisor

Heather A Turner

Third Advisor

Rebecca Glauber

Abstract

Children are reported missing in the United States for a multitude of reasons every year. Often, law enforcement is tasked with investigating these disappearances and recovering the missing child. In some instances, determining the reason why a child is missing can be challenging. This study focuses on three types of missing child episodes that result in fatality: child abduction homicides (CAH), false allegations of child disappearance (FACD), and wander-offs (WO). This exploratory analysis contributes to a gap in the literature by identifying some possible differences between case types that may assist police in determining the likely explanation for the disappearance. The sample included 103 solved fatalities of children who were reported to police following their disappearance. Bivariate analyses for the association between various case characteristics and the dependent variable of case type were explored. Pearson’s Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and cell-wise comparisons were used to identify significant differences between case types. Findings showed that accurate classification of case type at the outset occurred at higher levels in wander-offs (90%) than abductions (42%) and false allegations (12%); FACD victims experienced more household turmoil, prior maltreatment, and separations from caregivers than CAH and wander-off victims; CAH offenses demonstrated evidence of sexual assault in 91% of cases; CAH offenses were most often sexually motivated, while FACDs were about equally motivated by either punishment or the desire to get rid of an unwanted child; and the homicides in CAHs were primarily motivated by the desire to cover-up the assault or abduction, while FACD homicide were primarily accidental in nature. Recommendations for law enforcement, such as obtaining calls for service and administrative records, and conducting extensive collateral and neighborhood interviews, are provided.

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