CRISIS ALERT: Nearly 3,000 Children Vanish Without a Trace in Odisha; Alarming Figures Expose Deep-Rooted Crisis

13 Dec 2025, 07:56 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

A staggering child safety crisis has gripped Odisha, with nearly 3,000 children currently listed as untraceable, prompting urgent demands for immediate systemic reform. Official data reveals a chilling trend where thousands of minors disappear, often falling victim to trafficking, exploitation, or succumbing to the pressures of runaway attempts fueled by social vulnerabilities.

The Alarming Numbers

Since January 2024, the state has registered a massive 11,337 cases of missing children. While authorities have managed to trace and rescue 8,362 children, the inability to locate the remaining 3,000 young lives underscores a profound failure in the state’s child protection mechanisms.

Geographic Impact and Contributing Factors

Though the epidemic is state-wide, the issue is severely pronounced in high-traffic and rapidly urbanizing regions. Districts like Puri have highlighted the challenges, with local police and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) struggling to cope.

Experts warn that the crisis is exacerbated by:

Trafficking and Exploitation: A significant number of untraced children are feared to have fallen into the hands of human traffickers.

Critical Time Loss: Authorities stress that the first 24 hours after a child goes missing are absolutely crucial. Without immediate activation of all resources, the opportunity to trace the child quickly is lost, increasing the risk of the child ending up in the wrong hands.

Social Disruption: Rapid urbanization, coupled with digital disruption, social media exposure, and a lack of awareness, is making adolescents highly susceptible to running away.

Consensual Elopements: Many cases involve consensual elopements, which are still registered as missing cases, further complicating the rescue task when families are reluctant to divulge full details.

Child protection advocates are demanding urgent action, including establishing child-friendly help desks at transit points like railway stations, launching community outreach programs, and ensuring a tightly coordinated network of child-protection, social-welfare, and policing agencies to stem the tide of these alarming disappearances.

The Alarming Numbers

Since January 2024, the state has registered a massive 11,337 cases of missing children. While authorities have managed to trace and rescue 8,362 children, the inability to locate the remaining 3,000 young lives underscores a profound failure in the state’s child protection mechanisms.

Geographic Impact and Contributing Factors

Though the epidemic is state-wide, the issue is severely pronounced in high-traffic and rapidly urbanizing regions. Districts like Puri have highlighted the challenges, with local police and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) struggling to cope.

Experts warn that the crisis is exacerbated by:

Trafficking and Exploitation: A significant number of untraced children are feared to have fallen into the hands of human traffickers.
Critical Time Loss: Authorities stress that the first 24 hours after a child goes missing are absolutely crucial. Without immediate activation of all resources, the opportunity to trace the child quickly is lost, increasing the risk of the child ending up in the wrong hands.
Social Disruption: Rapid urbanization, coupled with digital disruption, social media exposure, and a lack of awareness, is making adolescents highly susceptible to running away.
Consensual Elopements: Many cases involve consensual elopements, which are still registered as missing cases, further complicating the rescue task when families are reluctant to divulge full details.