Ring and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Commemorate 5 Years of Bringing Children Home

One day after moving with his family to Albuquerque, New Mexico, 14-year-old Gilbert left the house to watch a local football game. But when the time came for his dad to pick him up, Gilbert was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, Gilbert couldn't remember his new home address, nor his parents’ cell phone numbers, and with the battery of his phone nearly dead, he had limited resources to connect with them.

Four hours later, as night began to fall, Gilbert's parents were desperate for other ways to reach him. His mother, Candice, thought to turn to the Neighbors App by Ring in the hope that someone in the neighborhood would recognize him.

Within thirty minutes, Candice received a call from a man who said he spotted Gilbert and would wait with him until she could pick him up.

“I was like, 'thank God,' Candice recalled, "because if we hadn’t posted it, I really don’t know what would have happened, because he’s very shy and timid, so he wouldn’t have asked anyone or said ‘I’m lost.’ I really hate even thinking about what could’ve happened.”

In 2019, Ring announced its partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to encourage users to assist in reuniting missing children with their families. As we celebrate five years of our partnership with NCMEC, let's take a look back at how it all began.

Origin of Ring’s Partnership with NCMEC

Our partnership with NCMEC began when we noticed users posting on the Neighbors App about children who were missing or late to returning home. Soon after, Ring visited NCMEC’s offices in Washington D.C. to learn more about the organization’s work.

“The work NCMEC does is truly inspiring,” commented Eric Kuhn, Ring's General Manager, Digital Services. “During our initial visit, they [told us] that one of the difficulties they had with sharing important information on social media was that it was shared globally. [They thought] it would be more effective if posts were sent to areas where a child went missing or was believed to be, and we had the capability to publish to a specific area built into Neighbors. We, and the Ring Community, are so proud to have been able to help such an incredible organization.” Kuhn explained.

Through our partnership with NCMEC, the Neighbors Team publishes 2-3 missing children cases on the Neighbors App every week. NCMEC also sends critical cases, from which the Neighbors Team curates text-based posts accompanied by video or a series of photos. The team then publishes posts to either the city, county, or designated-market area (DMA). Sometimes, tips come in indicating a child was seen elsewhere, perhaps even 1,000 miles away from where they went missing, and the app's geo-targeting allows for a post to go out to the area at a moment’s notice.

Look Back on the Success of the Partnership

A 12-year-old boy went missing from on June 10, 2024 and was featured on a Ring post on June 18, 2024.

“When my 12-year-old son [went] missing, I was frantic and terrified,” recalled the boy’s mother. “ I reached out to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and they helped [me with] my search. One of the great tools they used was an alert sent out to people who have [Ring devices]. [It’s] such a great resource. People [that I knew] messaged me that [they received] the alert. It was another way to notify the community to be on the lookout for my son.”

The boy was eventually recovered 12 days later, after being featured on the app helped spread the word and increase media attention.

“I am so thankful for NCMEC, and the media coverage they pushed to aid in my boy being returned to me,” his mother continued.

Since the beginning of our partnership, the NCMEC team has sent Ring 1,498 cases to publish on the Neighbors App. 1,431 of those cases have been resolved. When shared with app users, all the missing children posts published in a month see an average of almost 1.5K comments from users offering thoughts and prayers, and when available, tips on the whereabouts of children. These posts also see an average of 2.4K shares per month to external channels, increasing overall visibility.

“Technology [plays] a vital role in our mission to bring missing children home,” said NCMEC’s CEO, Michelle DeLaune. “Our partnership with the Neighbors App by Ring, which engages millions of users, has dramatically expanded our reach, allowing us to reunite even more children with their families.”

A Path Forward

Reuniting missing children with their families can only happen with the help of the community, so we urge you to support our mission and our work by sharing these posts when you see them in your Neighbors feed.

“We are proud to see the positive impact that our partnership with NCMEC has had over the last five years. At Ring, we build products and services every day to help people stay close to what’s important,” said Liz Hamren, CEO of Ring. “We look forward to continuing to bring the power of Ring’s connected communities to help safely reunite more families in the future.”

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