18
Family Survival Guide
enforcement’s classification of your child as
abducted or endangered.
Be honest, complete, and forthcoming in
your statements and answers to law en-
forcement. Fully disclose all recent activities
of and conversations with your child. What
may seem insignificant to you may be impor-
tant to an investigator.
Be prepared for hard, repetitious questions
from investigators. As difficult as it may be,
try not to respond in a hostile manner to ques-
tions that seem personal or offensive. The
fact is that investigators must ask difficult and
sensitive questions if they are to do their jobs
effectively.
Don’t feel guilty about relaying suspicions
concerning someone you know. It is not
often that a total stranger takes a child. You
may not want to believe that it is someone
that you know, but keep an open mind and
consider all the possibilities. Above all else,
trust your feelings, instincts, and gut reactions
and share them with law enforcement so they
can be checked out.
Do everything possible to get you and your
family removed from the suspect list. As
painful as it may be, accept the fact that a
large number of children are harmed by mem-
bers of their own families, and therefore you
and your family will be considered suspects
until you are cleared. To help law enforcement
move on to other suspects, volunteer early to
take a polygraph test. Insist that both parents
be tested at the same time by different inter-
viewers, or one after another. This will help to
deflect media speculation that one of you was
involved in the disappearance.
Insist that everyone close to your child be
interviewed. Encourage everyone—including
family members, friends, neighbors, teach-
ers, and coaches—to cooperate in the inves-
tigatory process. Although polygraph testing
is voluntary, refusal to take a polygraph can
cause law enforcement to spend time trying
to eliminate an individual from the suspect
list through other means and, as a result,
take valuable time away from finding the real
suspect.
Leave the interviewing of your other chil-
dren to law enforcement. Do not question
your children yourself. Especially with younger
children, insist that a law enforcement officer
who is trained to interview children conduct
the questioning. Many law enforcement
agencies have a child abuse unit with officers
who are specially trained to work with children.
You can also ask to have a child advocate sit
in on the interview with your child. Child advo-
cates are specially trained volunteers who
provide assistance and support to children
involved in the legal process. Child advocates
are normally housed in the district attorney’s
office, the court, or the law enforcement
agency. Ask law enforcement for information
about your local child advocate office. If your
child is very young, you may be asked to sit in
on the interview. Don’t be alarmed, however,
if law enforcement prefers to interview your
children alone.
Be prepared for constant law enforcement
presence in your home. For the protection
of you and your family, an officer may be
assigned to your home on a 24-hour basis.
Although this presence may feel intrusive,
welcome the officer, and recognize that this
person is there to answer calls and take leads,
protect you and other members of your family
from potential harm, and provide support. If
your law enforcement agency is small, how-
ever, it may not have the resources to place
an officer in your home 24 hours a day. In
those circumstances, it is still reasonable for
you to ask for added law enforcement protec-
tion in your home.
Talk regularly with your primary law
enforcement contact. The officer who re-
sponded initially to your call for help may not
be your permanent family contact. If there is a
good chance that your child has run away, for