Intro: INTRO: In three years, 9,639 cases of missing children reported in State; 1,094 remain untraced
BENGALURU
City recorded the highest number of missing children in Karnataka over the past three years, with 3,268 cases.
Police data show that girls make up nearly three-fourths of these cases, though officials say most incidents are not actual kidnappings.
Under Supreme Court guidelines, police register all missing minor cases as kidnappings. Police say only 2% to 3% involve crimes such as ransom, sexual assault or property disputes, most cases involve elopement or minors running away from home, often after family conflicts. Between January 2023 and November 15, 2025, 9,639 children went missing across the state. Of them, 6,981 (72%) were girls, and police traced 86% of these cases and reunited the children with their families.
During the same period, 2,748 boys were reported missing, of whom police traced 2,479 cases, a recovery rate of 90%, according to home department data. Police linked Bengaluru’s higher numbers to its population and urban lifestyle. Being the capital of the state, Bengaluru has a larger population, and this is why the number is higher here. Cases mostly involve elopement and running away from home as minors are exposed to a modern environment.
Also, the lifestyle, where mobile phones have become part of everyone’s life, influences minors to take steps like elopement or running away. We saw many cases where boys and girls, scolded by parents or guardians for overusing mobile phones, ran away from home, a senior police officer said.
Police said families report missing girls faster than boys. When parents or guardians find their daughter missing, they will not hesitate to approach the police because they want to ensure the safety of the missing girl. Also, in elopement cases, it will be the girl’s family who will come to the police first. When a boy runs away, the family will not act hastily. Also, boys who run away on their own mostly return home, unlike girls, the officer said. Investigators said kidnapping cases place immense pressure on police to ensure a victim’s safety.
. They stop using phones, never contact family or friends, travel to faraway places, and so on. However, we can trace them with the help of technology like CCTV footage, the officer added.