Virginia State Police helicopter.

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

Viral social media posts claiming “mass abductions” of children are happening in Virginia are false, according to state police.

On Thursday, Aug. 14, Virginia State Police confirmed there is no evidence of mass abductions anywhere in the Commonwealth, and the agency is not investigating any such cases, they confirmed. 

The agency said it is not investigating any such cases.

According to the department, Virginia State Police oversees the Virginia Missing Children Clearinghouse and handles all CODI and Amber Alerts in the state. 

Officials explained that Virginia’s missing child numbers appear higher on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) site because Virginia forwards every missing child case to NCMEC — something most other states don’t do.

Most missing children cases in Virginia are handled by local police. 

State guidelines require agencies to report a missing child within two hours. CODI or Amber Alerts are only issued when certain criteria are met.

Recent data from Virginia State Police shows:

  • 88 children were reported missing between Aug. 3 and Aug. 9;
  • The 2025 weekly average is 98 missing children;
  • Since Jan. 1, 2025, 3,274 missing children have been reported;
  • 141 (about 4 percent) remain missing as of Wednesday, Aug. 13;
  • 25 CODI Alerts and 2 Amber Alerts have been issued in 2025 — all subjects were found safe.

“Most of the children reported missing are runaways, and most return shortly after being reported missing,” officials said.