That plan proved more costly than expected, and the jury is still out on whether the decision to partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide free AMBER alerts on missing children will drive wireless phone subscriptions.

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The victim became suspicious and contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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The pictures were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Child Victim Identification Program.

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The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has also acknowledged that weighing the rights of offenders and the need for public safety is a tough balancing act.

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If you have information about the Gosch case, call the West Des Moines Police Department at (515) 222-3345 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE LOST.

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According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in 1999 (the last year comprehensive data was made available), approximately 800, 000 children younger than 18 were reported missing.

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Mr. CHARLES MASINO (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children): Most of the people that report their children missing don't even have photographs because it was all lost in their flood that they had at a particular home.

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But Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit group, said confirmed cases of abuse have declined over the past 20 years, because perpetrators are being more aggressively identified, imprisoned and monitored through sex-offender registries.

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Or the astounding case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was recovered after 18 long years and who was honored Tuesday night -- in one of those wonderful moments of synchronicity -- at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's annual Hope Awards.

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"A lot of these kids feel like they are in love, and therefore many of them will go back, so it's not only important that they get help, but they need a specialized kind of help, " said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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