Which missing-person group is most frequently represented in annual cases?

• A. Unidentified adults
• B. Seniors with dementia
• C. Missing infants
• D. Teenage runaways

Answer: (D)

Teenage runaways are the most frequently represented group in annual missing-person cases because a large share of missing-person reports come from youths who leave home voluntarily. Many teens run away for reasons like family conflict, the desire for independence, or to be with friends, and these disappearances often prompt formal reports and ongoing tracking, even though many are short-term and the youths eventually return. The result is that runaways dominate annual counts.

The other groups tend to be smaller in annual numbers: missing infants are relatively rare events, unidentified adults are not the same as missing persons being actively sought, and seniors with dementia do contribute significantly to missing-person cases, but their overall annual representation is not as large as that of teenage runaways.