Virginia State Police says there is no evidence of a “mass kidnapper” anywhere in the Commonwealth. This claim started spreading through viral TikTok’s and Facebook posts, but police want to debunk it immediately. State Police say in reality, most missing child cases in Virginia are runaways, and most come home quickly.

The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger or currently enrolled in a secondary school in the commonwealth, regardless of age, and the reporting law enforcement agency believes the child has been abducted (unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian).