The case of four year-old Madeleine McCann, who was abducted in Portugal recently, has sparked a plea from a charity for the UK’s many missing children.
The National Missing Persons Helpline said it has contended with nearly 450 incidents of children disappearing since Madeleine was abducted in Praia da Luz on May 3rd.
The charity’s chief executive Paul Tuohy said that the incident can help raise awareness regarding the widespread nature of child disappearances.
"Everyone hopes that Madeleine’s disappearance will have a swift and happy ending," he said.
"However, in the meantime, we believe the awareness raised has helped to educate the public that ‘missing’ is a social issue that could affect every one of us," he added.
National Missing Persons Helpline works with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, as well as their families and friends.
It provides ongoing support to around 2,000 families each year and on average finds ten missing people each week.
International Missing Children’s Day is to be held on May 25th.
