An officer responding to a missing child complaint should avoid ________.
A) Safeguarding evidence until interviews are completed
B) Making assumptions to avoid overlooking crucial information and evidence
C) Interviewing witnesses as each may be a suspect in the disappearance of the child
D) Gathering factual information quickly
Question 2
A 15-year-old girl is reported missing to the police by her parents and the following is learned by the responding officer:
The parents are in shock as their daughter is a good student and there is no apparent reason for her to run awayno fights with her parents or other factors known to either parent. She was discovered missing when the mother came home from work at 6:00 p.m. and her daughter should have been home for hours. There were no notes and she is now missing for over four hours. The girl is somewhat of a loner (no known friends), and spends a lot of time in her room studying. She is an A student. She has a computer in her room and it is connected to the Internet. She has talked to her parents about new friends she has made in chat rooms. After checking her room, her mother found that her suitcase is missing along with all of her fun money.
Based on the information above, what is the best theory (at this point) behind the child's status, and what should the officer investigating the case do next?
A) The child has run away from home and the officer should check with school officials for reasons why.
B) The child has been abducted from her room by a stranger and the officer should enter her information into NCIC.
C) The child has been abducted by a stranger on the way home from school and the officer should initiate an Amber Alert, as 74 percent of children are murdered within the first few hours of the event.
D) The child has been lured by an Internet predator and the child's computer should be checked for information and clues as to the perpetrator's identity and/or location.