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* ''WesternAnimation/PCPinkerton'': In "Calling All Units", Mrs. Beatty informs P.C. Pinkerton that her 4-year-old daughter, Joanna, has gone missing. After describing her to him, Pinkerton orders all cops in the jurisdiction to look for her. She is found soon after.
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* ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' is about a policeman investigating reports of a missing child on a remote Scottish island, and finding the locals to be disconcertingly unconcerned about the whole thing.
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* ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'': In one scene, Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
to:
* ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'': ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': In one scene, scene of ''The Long Haul'', Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
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* In one scene in ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'', Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
to:
* ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'': In one scene in ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'', scene, Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
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* Marinette's unexplained disappearance after being struck by a memory-erasing akuma is what drives the plot of ''Fanfic/Missing''.
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* Marinette's unexplained disappearance after being struck by a memory-erasing akuma is what drives the plot of ''Fanfic/Missing''.''FanFic/{{Missing|MiraculousLadybug}}''.
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* Marinette's unexplained disappearance after being struck by a memory-erasing akuma is what drives the plot of ''Fanfic/Missing''.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'', Chloe runs away after an argument with her father and ChildhoodFriend and then gets sucked into the Infinity Train. While she is having the time of her life, her friends and family are trying to figure out where she could have gone.
[[/folder]]
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'', Chloe runs away after an argument with her father and ChildhoodFriend and then gets sucked into the Infinity Train. While she is having the time of her life, her friends and family are trying to figure out where she could have gone.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder: Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/RatQueens'' features a prequel one-shot where Orc Dave has a child. Said child is not mentioned in the main comic until he is abruptly discovered in an enemy camp, where Dave admits the boy was kidnapped in front of him. Apparently Dave has taken no action on that front for years.
[[/folder]]
* ''ComicBook/RatQueens'' features a prequel one-shot where Orc Dave has a child. Said child is not mentioned in the main comic until he is abruptly discovered in an enemy camp, where Dave admits the boy was kidnapped in front of him. Apparently Dave has taken no action on that front for years.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder: Anime And Manga]]
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[[folder: Anime And and Manga]]
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Sometimes, though, the trope can get sinister. Billy isn't just hiding so you don't get mad he ate the last cookie, [[StrangerDanger Billy was taken]]. In these cases, it crosses over with IWillFindYou territory, with the adults going to all ends to get their kid back from a known threat.
to:
Sometimes, though, the trope can get sinister. Billy isn't just hiding so you don't get mad he ate the last cookie, [[StrangerDanger [[TooSmartForStrangers Billy was taken]]. In these cases, it crosses over with IWillFindYou territory, with the adults going to all ends to get their kid back from a known threat.
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* ''VideoGame/MissingChildren'' has three. Kanae, Mizuki, and Akiko, who've all run away together. [[PlayerCharacter Sato]]'s goal is to find them.
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* In ''Literature/{{It}}'', kids go missing in droves every 27 years in the town of Derry. The protagonists learn that an EldritchAbomination that feeds off fear, known only as 'It', is responsible and set out to stop it before anyone else is taken.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.Cynthia Dil snatched from her earlier.
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* The entire plot of ''Film/GoneBabyGone'' revolves around a missing little girl.
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[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'':
** Kakuya kidnaps Akira's young cousin, which kickstarts the plot and motivates him to play along with her game. Meanwhile, her mother is shown to be worried sick, spending most of her time at the police station while they try and fail to track her down.
** The Screaming Author chapter features a serial kidnapping case, with elementary-school girls being kidnapped every ten years around the Miroku Mansion. [[spoiler:Said girls were victim to horrible experimentation by the [[MadDoctor house's owner]], until the last victim turned into a spirit and started haunting the place.]]
[[/folder]]
* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'':
** Kakuya kidnaps Akira's young cousin, which kickstarts the plot and motivates him to play along with her game. Meanwhile, her mother is shown to be worried sick, spending most of her time at the police station while they try and fail to track her down.
** The Screaming Author chapter features a serial kidnapping case, with elementary-school girls being kidnapped every ten years around the Miroku Mansion. [[spoiler:Said girls were victim to horrible experimentation by the [[MadDoctor house's owner]], until the last victim turned into a spirit and started haunting the place.]]
[[/folder]]
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* ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'':
** "The Spanking," from Season 1, when everyone thinks that Arnold -- who is in line for a spanking due to pranks that he had pulled in the apartment building -- is indeed missing. He is later found and eventually forced to take his medicine.
** "Sam's Missing," the very-real NightmareFuel episode when Sam fails to return home from a trip to the store. It is later determined he was kidnapped by a seemingly benevolent stranger who is anything but.
** "The Spanking," from Season 1, when everyone thinks that Arnold -- who is in line for a spanking due to pranks that he had pulled in the apartment building -- is indeed missing. He is later found and eventually forced to take his medicine.
** "Sam's Missing," the very-real NightmareFuel episode when Sam fails to return home from a trip to the store. It is later determined he was kidnapped by a seemingly benevolent stranger who is anything but.
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%%Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestions thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions95
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
[[quoteright:350:[[Series/StrangerThings https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/st_willbyersmissing.png]]]]
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
[[quoteright:350:[[Series/StrangerThings https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/st_willbyersmissing.png]]]]
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[[folder: Anime And Manga]]
* ''Manga/MissKoizumiLovesRamenNoodles:'' One episode focuses on a lost, German girl named Hannah who got separated from her mother and mistaken Koizumi for her.
[[/folder]]
* ''Manga/MissKoizumiLovesRamenNoodles:'' One episode focuses on a lost, German girl named Hannah who got separated from her mother and mistaken Koizumi for her.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder: Poetry]]
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[[folder:VideoGames]]
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Little Billy is missing, not [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]], but still without parents or guardians. Maybe he's wandered off, or turned around and suddenly everyone was gone, or he's just ''really'' good at hide-and-seek. But he's missing, which may be the ultimate AdultFear.
to:
Little Billy is missing, not [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]], but still without parents or guardians.guardians or nanny. Maybe he's wandered off, or turned around and suddenly everyone was gone, or he's just ''really'' good at hide-and-seek. But he's missing, which may be the ultimate AdultFear.
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* ''literature/DandelionWine'': While walking with his brother and grandfather, Doug ends up going off with a group of neighborhood kids. A few hours later, his mom becomes worried when he still hasn't come home. She and Tom go out to the ravine to look for him.
to:
* ''literature/DandelionWine'': ''Literature/DandelionWine'': While walking with his brother and grandfather, Doug ends up going off with a group of neighborhood kids. A few hours later, his mom becomes worried when he still hasn't come home. She and Tom go out to the ravine to look for him.
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* ''literature/DandelionWine'': While walking with his brother and grandfather, Doug ends up going off with a group of neighborhood kids. A few hours later, his mom becomes worried when he still hasn't come home. She and Tom go out to the ravine to look for him.
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* ''Film/{{Kidnap}}'' Features this trope. A lovely day at the fair turns into a tragic one when [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Karla's son gets kidnapped]] which subsequently turns Karla into an equal mix of MamaBear and {{Determinator}}.
to:
* ''Film/{{Kidnap}}'' Features this trope. A lovely day at the fair turns into a tragic one when [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Karla's son gets kidnapped]] which subsequently turns Karla into an equal mix of MamaBear and {{Determinator}}.
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*''Film/{{Kidnap}}'' Features this trope. A lovely day at the fair turns into a tragic one when [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Karla's son gets kidnapped]] which subsequently turns Karla into an equal mix of MamaBear and {{Determinator}}.
-->'''Karla:''' [[PityTheKidnapper You took the wrong kid!]]
-->'''Karla:''' [[PityTheKidnapper You took the wrong kid!]]
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* Happens fairly frequently in ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Cloudkit and his littermates head into the forest to go "hunting" during a blizzard in ''Fire and Ice'' and are found by Fireheart and Sandstorm, Tawnypaw goes missing in ''The Darkest Hour'' when she runs off to join her father's Clan, Leafstar's kits vanish during the [=SkyClan=] manga when Sol hides them in the hope that he'll be made a warrior after "finding" them, etc.
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Not so sure about The Iron Giant example, as Hogarth is not ever absent for too long.
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!!Examples
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* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
to:
* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
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* The first season of ''Series/StrangerThings'' revolves around family and friends trying to find 12-year-old Will Byers who went missing.
to:
* The first season of ''Series/StrangerThings'' revolves around family and friends trying to find 12-year-old Will Byers who went missing. Little do they know that he is TrappedInAnotherWorld.
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[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
[[/folder]]
* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
[[/folder]]
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* In one scene in the ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movie "The Long Haul", Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
to:
* In one scene in the ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movie "The Long Haul", ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLongHaul'', Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
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* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', three hundred years from the year the film takes place, a girl named Emily Binks goes missing, and it turns out she was kidnapped by three evil witches who take her soul. Later, the witches capture a little girl named Danni, but she gets saved.
to:
* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', three hundred years from before the year the film takes place, a girl named Emily Binks goes missing, and it turns out she was kidnapped by three evil witches who take her soul. Later, the witches capture a little girl named Danni, but she gets saved.
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* In the poem ''Emmeline'' by A.A.Milne, a small girl named Emmeline disappears for more than a week after being told her hands were dirty. Where she went is a mystery, but when she returns, she claims to have gone to visit the Queen, who said her hands were "purfickly clean".
to:
* In the poem ''Emmeline'' by A.A.Milne, Creator/AAMilne, a small girl named Emmeline disappears for more than a week after being told her hands were dirty. Where she went is a mystery, but when she returns, she claims to have gone to visit the Queen, who said her hands were "purfickly clean".
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* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
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[[AC:Film -- Live-Action]]
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[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
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[[AC:Literature]]
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[[folder:Literature]]
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* In ''Literature/GoneBabyGone''two Boston area detectives investigate the kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl.
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* In ''Literature/GoneBabyGone''two ''Literature/GoneBabyGone'' two Boston area detectives investigate the kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
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[[folder: Poetry]]
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[[folder:VideoGames]]
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
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[[/folder]]
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Created from YKTTW
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Hey, Billy, where'd you go?
Little Billy is missing, not [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]], but still without parents or guardians. Maybe he's wandered off, or turned around and suddenly everyone was gone, or he's just ''really'' good at hide-and-seek. But he's missing, which may be the ultimate AdultFear.
If he's gone missing from school, they might signal a CodeEmergency and they will count the kids. They probably also called the police. The responsible adults will be searching everywhere for him, and hopefully found that he wasn't really missing at all, he just needed to go potty and didn't tell anyone.
A logical downside of having FreeRangeChildren is their tendency to not be where you think they are.
Sometimes, though, the trope can get sinister. Billy isn't just hiding so you don't get mad he ate the last cookie, [[StrangerDanger Billy was taken]]. In these cases, it crosses over with IWillFindYou territory, with the adults going to all ends to get their kid back from a known threat.
This is about the storyline of adults trying to find missing children. If it happens with [[BabysitterFromHell babysitters]] around, you can bet they're going to pretend the kid's asleep until they can find them. If it's at [[CarouselKidnapping the fairground]], expect the [[CreepyCircusMusic cheesy music to get creepier]] as the parents turn around every kid they see.
It may be subverted with the child having run away from AbusiveParents, who are wanting him back to punish him. Usually the heroes discover this before they get the kid back, but [[AdultsAreUseless sometimes they don't]].
SuperTrope to FaceOnAMilkCarton, which might appear if the kid spends too long missing.
----
!!Examples
[[AC:Film -- Live-Action]]
* In one scene in the ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movie "The Long Haul", Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
* While trick-or-treating in ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', Elliot goes off into the woods to help the alien E.T. and stays the night, causing his mother to report him missing. However, he comes back and that's when she discovers E.T.
* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', three hundred years from the year the film takes place, a girl named Emily Binks goes missing, and it turns out she was kidnapped by three evil witches who take her soul. Later, the witches capture a little girl named Danni, but she gets saved.
* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' is about two little girls gone missing and the hero detective trying to find them.
[[AC:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/GangstaGranny'', Ben goes off with his grandmother to steal the crown jewels and when he comes back, his parents reveal they'd been searching for him.
* In ''Literature/GoneBabyGone''two Boston area detectives investigate the kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl.
* One of the interactive ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' books focuses on the main character's younger brother Denny going missing due to stepping into a time machine.
* In one of the ''Literature/{{Treehouse}}'' books, Andy and Terry are babysitting [[MeanBoss Mr. Big Nose]]'s grandchildren (six-year-old twins Alice and Albert and their [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] baby sister) and several times, the children wander off and must be found by Andy and Terry. They never leave the treehouse, but it's so big and dangerous that it's just as dramatic.
[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
* The first season of ''Series/StrangerThings'' revolves around family and friends trying to find 12-year-old Will Byers who went missing.
[[AC: Poetry]]
* In the poem ''Emmeline'' by A.A.Milne, a small girl named Emmeline disappears for more than a week after being told her hands were dirty. Where she went is a mystery, but when she returns, she claims to have gone to visit the Queen, who said her hands were "purfickly clean".
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* There are two objectives in ''[[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]]'' that involve finding lost children. In [[AmusementParkOfDoom Witchyworld]], Mrs. Boggy is looking for her three children, Groggy, Soggy, and Moggy. Groggy wants Banjo and Kazooie to bring him a cheeseburger, and then carry him back to his mom, since he is too fat to walk back on his own. Soggy wants Banjo and Kazooie to bring her french fries, and Moggy doesn't want to leave, but if you hit him, he will run back to his mom to tell on Banjo and Kazooie. In [[{{Prehistoria}} Terrydactyland]], Scrotty's daughter, Scrut, has [[TheRunaway run away]] to visit Witchyworld, and ends up becoming captured and put on display in the Cave of Horrors as a "Mighty Evil Dinosaur". Banjo and Kazooie must destroy her cage, and then take her back to Terrydactyland with Chuffy the train.
* The [[SerialKiller Origami Killer]] from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' kidnaps young boys, traps them in a [[DrowningPit pit that slowly fills with rainwater]], and forces their fathers to complete a series of extremely dangerous trials in exchange for the chance to save their son before he drowns. [[DisappearedDad Some of the fathers are never seen again.]] Protagonist Ethan Mars' son Shaun is kidnapped shortly into the game, forcing Ethan to undertake the trials himself. [[spoiler:And he can fail them; there's a BadEnding where Shaun is never rescued.]]
[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "Lost!", Arthur gets lost after falling asleep on the bus.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Babar}}'', Princess Elizabeth goes missing in the castle, and her brother Prince Alexander thinks she has gone to the dump.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** In "Extra Large Medium", Chris and Stewie get lost in the woods during a camping trip.
** In "JOLO", Peter climbs onto a billboard to see if its three-dimensional prop pudding cup has real pudding in it, but finds that a kid is already in there. Joe identifies him as "the lost Nicholson kid", and Peter is hailed as a hero.
--->'''Peter:''' They arrested a custodian 'cause of you.
* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
----
Little Billy is missing, not [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]], but still without parents or guardians. Maybe he's wandered off, or turned around and suddenly everyone was gone, or he's just ''really'' good at hide-and-seek. But he's missing, which may be the ultimate AdultFear.
If he's gone missing from school, they might signal a CodeEmergency and they will count the kids. They probably also called the police. The responsible adults will be searching everywhere for him, and hopefully found that he wasn't really missing at all, he just needed to go potty and didn't tell anyone.
A logical downside of having FreeRangeChildren is their tendency to not be where you think they are.
Sometimes, though, the trope can get sinister. Billy isn't just hiding so you don't get mad he ate the last cookie, [[StrangerDanger Billy was taken]]. In these cases, it crosses over with IWillFindYou territory, with the adults going to all ends to get their kid back from a known threat.
This is about the storyline of adults trying to find missing children. If it happens with [[BabysitterFromHell babysitters]] around, you can bet they're going to pretend the kid's asleep until they can find them. If it's at [[CarouselKidnapping the fairground]], expect the [[CreepyCircusMusic cheesy music to get creepier]] as the parents turn around every kid they see.
It may be subverted with the child having run away from AbusiveParents, who are wanting him back to punish him. Usually the heroes discover this before they get the kid back, but [[AdultsAreUseless sometimes they don't]].
SuperTrope to FaceOnAMilkCarton, which might appear if the kid spends too long missing.
----
!!Examples
[[AC:Film -- Live-Action]]
* In one scene in the ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' movie "The Long Haul", Rodrick and Greg sneak off to a video game convention and their mother Susan notices they're gone. However, she sees them on TV and goes to the convention to tell them off.
* While trick-or-treating in ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', Elliot goes off into the woods to help the alien E.T. and stays the night, causing his mother to report him missing. However, he comes back and that's when she discovers E.T.
* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', three hundred years from the year the film takes place, a girl named Emily Binks goes missing, and it turns out she was kidnapped by three evil witches who take her soul. Later, the witches capture a little girl named Danni, but she gets saved.
* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' is about two little girls gone missing and the hero detective trying to find them.
[[AC:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/GangstaGranny'', Ben goes off with his grandmother to steal the crown jewels and when he comes back, his parents reveal they'd been searching for him.
* In ''Literature/GoneBabyGone''two Boston area detectives investigate the kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl.
* One of the interactive ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' books focuses on the main character's younger brother Denny going missing due to stepping into a time machine.
* In one of the ''Literature/{{Treehouse}}'' books, Andy and Terry are babysitting [[MeanBoss Mr. Big Nose]]'s grandchildren (six-year-old twins Alice and Albert and their [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] baby sister) and several times, the children wander off and must be found by Andy and Terry. They never leave the treehouse, but it's so big and dangerous that it's just as dramatic.
[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
* The first season of ''Series/StrangerThings'' revolves around family and friends trying to find 12-year-old Will Byers who went missing.
[[AC: Poetry]]
* In the poem ''Emmeline'' by A.A.Milne, a small girl named Emmeline disappears for more than a week after being told her hands were dirty. Where she went is a mystery, but when she returns, she claims to have gone to visit the Queen, who said her hands were "purfickly clean".
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* There are two objectives in ''[[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]]'' that involve finding lost children. In [[AmusementParkOfDoom Witchyworld]], Mrs. Boggy is looking for her three children, Groggy, Soggy, and Moggy. Groggy wants Banjo and Kazooie to bring him a cheeseburger, and then carry him back to his mom, since he is too fat to walk back on his own. Soggy wants Banjo and Kazooie to bring her french fries, and Moggy doesn't want to leave, but if you hit him, he will run back to his mom to tell on Banjo and Kazooie. In [[{{Prehistoria}} Terrydactyland]], Scrotty's daughter, Scrut, has [[TheRunaway run away]] to visit Witchyworld, and ends up becoming captured and put on display in the Cave of Horrors as a "Mighty Evil Dinosaur". Banjo and Kazooie must destroy her cage, and then take her back to Terrydactyland with Chuffy the train.
* The [[SerialKiller Origami Killer]] from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' kidnaps young boys, traps them in a [[DrowningPit pit that slowly fills with rainwater]], and forces their fathers to complete a series of extremely dangerous trials in exchange for the chance to save their son before he drowns. [[DisappearedDad Some of the fathers are never seen again.]] Protagonist Ethan Mars' son Shaun is kidnapped shortly into the game, forcing Ethan to undertake the trials himself. [[spoiler:And he can fail them; there's a BadEnding where Shaun is never rescued.]]
[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "Lost!", Arthur gets lost after falling asleep on the bus.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Babar}}'', Princess Elizabeth goes missing in the castle, and her brother Prince Alexander thinks she has gone to the dump.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** In "Extra Large Medium", Chris and Stewie get lost in the woods during a camping trip.
** In "JOLO", Peter climbs onto a billboard to see if its three-dimensional prop pudding cup has real pudding in it, but finds that a kid is already in there. Joe identifies him as "the lost Nicholson kid", and Peter is hailed as a hero.
--->'''Peter:''' They arrested a custodian 'cause of you.
* In ''Disney/FindingNemo''. Nemo the baby clownfish gets captured by divers, leading his nervous dad Marlin to look for him.
* Several times in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', the boy Hogarth wanders into the woods to visit the giant robot, leaving his mother Annie to wonder where he is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'' focuses on the babies Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil trying to send Tommy's younger brother Dil back to the hospital and ending up getting lost in the woods. Tommy's spoilt, older cousin Angelica later goes missing too when she sets out to look for her doll Cynthia.
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