Viral social media posts claimed dozens of children across the Commonwealth were abducted in a “mass kidnapping.” Authorities are debunking the rumors.
VIRGINIA, USA — If you have seen TikToks or videos on social media recently about a “mass kidnapping” of children in Virginia, state police told 13News Now that they’ve seen them, too — and that they aren’t true.
Videos that quickly spread on TikTok created several conspiracies about mass abductions, with just one video claiming that there was a “mass abduction” of children since August 1 in the state.
13News Now asked Virginia State Police if there was any validity to claims of a mass kidnapper or large-scale abduction, and a spokesperson said, “Virginia State Police is not investigating any reports of a ‘mass kidnapper’ in the Commonwealth.”
On top of that, state police said they are not even seeing an unusual spike or surge in missing children.
According to data from state police, last week, 88 children were reported missing to the Missing Children’s Clearing House (MCC). That is 10 fewer missing children than their 2025 weekly average of 98 missing children.
Virginia State Police provided a statement to 13News Now on Tuesday about why several websites, like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids, as well as MCC, show more missing kids from the state than others:
Virginia has reported more missing children than other states on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids (NCMEC) website. This is because Virginia State Police forwards EVERY missing child case to NCMEC. According to NCMEC, Virginia is the most pro-active in sending cases to their website. Virginia does this to centralize missing children’s cases so they can all be reviewed in one location. Many other clearinghouses post their cases to their own website. In Virginia, the MCC uses NCMEC as the clearinghouse site.
State police noted that most children reported missing in the past few days are children who have run away from home voluntarily, and most return shortly after being reported missing.
From January 2025 to 9 a.m. on August 12, 2025, state police have had a total of 3,245 children reported missing to the MCC. Of those missing children, 149 are still missing, or about 4%.
In addition, state police issued a total of 25 CODI Alerts and two Amber Alerts from January 2025 through August 12, 2025, and all of those children were found safe.
Authorities also noted that nearly all missing children cases are investigated at the local level, from the town where they are reported missing. When a child is missing, local agencies have two hours to report it to state authorities in order for them to issue a CODI or Amber Alert.
Here are the criteria for CODI or Amber Alerts Virginia State Police consider:
Criteria for the activation of a CODI Alert
Each law enforcement agency shall investigate the matter to verify the disappearance and eliminate alternative explanations where evidence is lacking. Information must be established to meet the definition of a missing or endangered child. Also, sufficient information must be available to disseminate to the public to assist in locating the missing child, to include a vehicle if there is one, in order to activate the alert. Elements for a missing or endangered child:
- Any person 17 years of age or younger or is currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth;
- Whose whereabouts are unknown, and;
- Whose disappearance is under suspicious circumstances or poses a credible threat as determined by law enforcement to the safety and health of the child, or;
- Based on any other circumstances as deemed appropriate by the Virginia State Police.
Criteria for the activation of the AMBER Alert Plan
- 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).
- The law enforcement agency believes the missing child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death.
- A law enforcement investigation has taken place that verified the abduction or eliminated alternative explanations.
- Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, and/or the suspect’s vehicle.
- The child must be entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing person files as soon as practical.
If all of the aforementioned criteria are not met, the Virginia AMBER Alert Plan will not be activated.
In addition, Virginia State Police offered the following safety tips to help keep children safe:
- Have your child practice making 911 calls from both a cell phone and a landline (unplugged or with batteries removed).
- Make sure your child knows not to accept rides from strangers and not to trust a stranger who suggests they go off alone together for any reason, for example, to find a lost puppy, etc.
- Tell your child to let you know immediately if another adult suggests keeping secrets from you.
- Never leave your child alone in the car, even for a minute.
