National Association for Missing and Exploited Children

We are an association of professionals and volunteers who assist child victims of exploitation; in prevention, rescue, procuring legal representation, safe housing, and rehabilitative therapy.

The National Association for Missing and Exploited Children, Inc. is a not‐for‐profit charity organization founded in 2017 consisting of professionals and volunteers whom serve missing and exploited children in the United States. NAMEC is the first and largest National Missing & Exploited Children’s association in the world. The association works to advance the needs of missing and exploited children through educational programs and legislative advocacy efforts before governmental agencies: Federal, State, and Local Legislatures.NAMEC works in support of the children who are runaway/missing and exploited. The National Association for Missing and Exploited Children, Inc. (NAMEC) is a not‐for‐profit, charity organization founded in 2017 serving missing and exploited children in the United States.

One in 6 of the 18,500 runaways in the U.S. were likely victims of sex trafficking. (2016, NCMEC). Law enforcement is legally and understandably given wide discretion regarding runaway cases and are not required to take much action unless "imminent harm" can be proven. We aim to fill this gap and need your help. NAMEC is a unified on-the-ground, nationally-scoped force to assist missing and exploited children and their families. At its core, NAMEC brings together individuals with investigative backgrounds (private investigators, former law enforcement, military etc.) from all 50 states, to work collectively to locate missing and exploited children.

The NAMEC Board includes: some of the top private investigators in the country, retired FBI, Homeland Security, and ICE agents, a human trafficking survivor, and leaders throughout the country who have been working on child sex trafficking investigations. NAMEC is an umbrella organization that brings together the various segments of the public and private sector, who are involved in this critical issue. NAMEC works with children, and families, to find appropriate rehabilitative programs and provide appropriate legal representation. Click here for the NAMEC Power Point Presentation.

The Benefits of Membership

The NAMEC Story: Join Us Today and Become a Part of It 
NAMEC officially became a California non-profit charity corporation, in May of 2017. The inspiration for its formation started in 2015, in Oceanside,California when NAMEC President, Joseph Travers, formed Saved in America (SIA). SIA is a non-profit comprised of ex-Navy SEALS, retired special operations agents, and law officers, as volunteers who track, and rescue at-risk runaways. All members of SIA are also Private Investigators.  SIA’s 2nd rescue was a 15 year old from, California who was tracked to Jacksonville, Florida. With the assistance of members of Florida’s top PI Association the team rescued the girl and the bad guy went to jail. This is what first made Joseph realize this could go National by using the PI profession.

 While SIA, and the PI Profession, were the inspiration for NAMEC, its mission is to go beyond recovery. NAMEC is one of many, partners dealing with this horrendous epidemic. Missing and Exploited Children, after rescue, are often left vulnerable to become prey again to sex predators. Without proper care, and post-rescue support, victims have little to use to rebuild their lives. The process of protecting victims extends to helping them after rescue, and making sure they aren’t re-victimized. There are thousands of social service agencies, and non- profits, throughout the country that are working to assist victims. NAMEC is working to be the bridge to incorporate these organizations into the process.

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PI Magazine Article

NAMEC is a unified, ‘boots on the ground’, national force to assist and support missing & exploited children and their families. NAMEC acts as a hub for as-needed resources by engaging licensed private investigators, other professionals and volunteers, in the fight to recover and rehabilitate missing & exploited children.

The inspiration for NAMEC started in 2014, in Oceanside, California with the formation of Saved in America (SIA) SavedInAmerica.org, a non- profit organization comprised of volunteer former Navy SEALs and retired Law Enforcement Officers who are all licensed and insured private investigators. SIA, to date, has successfully investigated and recovered missing and exploited children in 95 cases since December 2014.

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Now that you know a little bit about what NAMEC, we need your help. The most crucial need right now is funding. We are working on getting corporate sponsors throughout the country, but we are also jump starting our fundraising by reaching out to individuals and small businesses.

Please consider a donation of any amount, so we can fund our goals of:
    * assisting parents and law enforcement in locating missing children;
    * facilitating accessing rehabilitation and legal representation for victims of child exploitation;
    * articulating and advocating the needs of child victims before legislative, administrative, and judicial local, state, and federal branches of government; and
    * acting as a hub for as-needed resources by nationally engaging professionals and volunteers in meaningful and concrete service to victims and families.