Children who were kidnapped, survived and were reunited with their families: Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard and more [Video]

Hundreds of thousands of young children have fallen victim to a kidnapping.

In the United States alone, a child goes missing or is abducted every 40 seconds, according to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center. 

About 840,000 people go missing every year, of which 85% to 90% are estimated to be children, according to the FBI. 

These United States kidnapping cases are stories of individuals who were captured as young children, but eventually found their way back to their families days, weeks, months and years after they were taken. 

4 SHOCKING TRUE CRIME MYSTERIES THROUGHOUT HISTORY, FROM THE ‘ZODIAC KILLER’ TO THE ‘BLACK DAHLIA’

1. Melissa Highsmith
2. Elizabeth Smart
3. Jaycee Dugard
4. Carlina White
5. Kara Robinson Chamberlain
6. Alicia Kozakiewicz
7. Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck

1. Melissa Highsmith

Melissa Highsmith was reunited with her family in November 2022 after being separated for over 50 years. 

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the family had moved to the Fort Worth areaand …