Somebody who knows you will come looking. This page is about making that happen sooner.
Try the phone, but do not count on it
Try 999 first, every time, and try the numbers on the card.
Sometimes phones stop working for everybody at once. If that happens it is not about you and there is nothing you did wrong. Try again every few hours. Networks sometimes come back.
Look after the battery, because the plan is to keep trying for days. Turn the phone right off between tries, or at least turn the screen brightness down and leave it alone. A phone you have played on all afternoon is a phone that cannot ring anybody in the morning. If there is more than one phone in the house, use one and keep the other switched off.
While you wait, the rest of this page is what actually works.
Be easy to find
This is the real plan.
- Stay at home, or at the meeting place on the card. Those are the two places people will look first.
- Leave notes. On the front door, and where you sleep. Write where you are, and the date. If you move, leave a new note saying where you went.
- Be visible in the daytime. Sit near a window, or in the garden or front step if it is safe. Somebody walking past cannot find you if you are hiding.
- Make a noise if you hear someone. A whistle carries much further than shouting and does not wear your voice out. Three blasts, then wait and listen. Three of anything means "I need help".
- At night, keep a torch handy but do not wander about outside in the dark. Wait for daylight.
Which grown-ups are safe to ask
Most people are kind and will help a child. A few are not, and when things are difficult it can be harder to tell.
Best of all: someone you already know by name. A neighbour you have met. A friend's parent. Someone from the card. Always choose them first, even if you have to wait longer.
If you do not know anybody nearby, then look for:
- Someone in a uniform, like police, ambulance or fire.
- A family with their own children with them.
- A group of people, rather than one person on their own.
- Somewhere with lots of people already in it.
Be much more careful about:
- One adult on their own who comes up to you, especially somewhere quiet.
- Anyone who wants you to go somewhere else with them straight away.
- Anyone who tells you to keep it a secret, or not to tell anyone where you are going.
If someone does help you, ask them to help you get a message to the people on the card, and ask them to leave a note at your house saying where you have gone.
If somebody knocks at the door
This will probably be good news. People are looking for you, and a knock is what being found sounds like.
You still get to decide. You do not have to open the door, and you are allowed to talk to somebody through it.
- Look first if you can, out of a window or through the spyhole.
- If it is someone off the card, or a neighbour you know by name, that is exactly who you were waiting for. Open the door.
- If it is police, fire or ambulance in uniform, that is good too. Tell them your name and that you are on your own.
- If you do not know them, you can talk through the closed door and leave it shut. Ask them to ring one of the names on your card. That is a reasonable thing to ask and a helpful person will do it.
If anyone is trying to get into the house and it feels wrong, go into a room with a door that shuts, take the phone with you, and ring 999. You will not be in trouble for ringing, ever, even if it turns out to be nothing.
What to say
You do not need special words. Say:
- Your name, and your age.
- Who is with you.
- Where you live.
- That you cannot find your grown-ups.
- Who you are trying to reach, and read the name off the card.
If you are talking to someone who knows the area, tell them your address. If they do not, describe where you are: the road name, a shop, a school, anything nearby with a name on it.