The image of a doe-eyed young blonde girl is splashed across the news. She is the latest victim of abduction or runaway -- but she is just one.

When people think about missing children, images of scary white vans and bus stop grabs rush through their heads. But for many children, it is a parent's car, not a scary van that rips them from everything they have ever known.

Families with missing loved ones face a lonely and challenging journey. For some, that journey ends quickly with reunification. But for many families, answers come slowly, if they come at all.

When my daughter went missing, I needed to act -- I couldn't just sit by the phone and wait. So I turned to Facebook. And Twitter. And LinkedIn. And email. And anything else I could think of. Before my daughter was returned home safely, more than 4,000 people shared my story.