99% of ALL missing children e-mail reports currently circulating today are pure fabrications and in most cases, the person listed in the alert does not even exist. Less than one out of 100 messages are outdated reports which were once true, but are now outdated. Recipients of such messages are unaware that the child has already been found and they unwittingly forward a report which is no longer needed. An even smaller number of reports are true and current, but these are usually are solved quickly and become outdated rapidly.

When you receive a report of a missing child, it is often in the best interest of everyone to verify the report before forwarding a hoax or outdated report. The most commonly encountered hoaxes are listed below. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is considered the most reliable source for authentic information and should be consulted to verify if a true story is still current or if the story was ever true at all.

Real missing children are indicated in RED
Hoaxes are indicated in BLUE

Christopher John Mineo, Jr.
   •  Urban Legend Reference Pages

Kelsey Brooke Jones
   •  Urban Legend Reference Pages

Penny Brown
   •  TruthOrFiction.com