(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whenever a parent knows, learns, or believes that a child under the parent’s charge and care is missing, the parent shall report the child as being missing to a law enforcement agency or the Tennessee bureau of investigation.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-10-202

  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Child: means any person under twenty-one (21) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-10-201
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Missing child: means a child who is believed to have been removed by force, persuasion, trick, enticement, false pretense, has voluntarily left the custody of such child's parent without permission or is absent for unexplained or unknown reasons. See Tennessee Code 37-10-201
  • Parent: means a natural or adoptive parent, guardian, or person or organization standing in a loco parentis position by virtue of an order of a court. See Tennessee Code 37-10-201
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Whenever the parent knows, learns, or believes that a minor child under the parent’s charge and care is missing, the parent shall make the report under subsection (a) within a reasonable time after determining that the child is missing, but in no event more than twenty-four (24) hours after determining that the child is missing. As used in this section, “minor child” means a person who is twelve (12) years of age or younger.
(c)

(1) A parent who is subject to the duty imposed by subsection (b) commits the offense of failure to report a missing child if the parent fails to make, or fails to cause to be made, the report required under subsection (b) with intentional or reckless disregard for the safety of the minor child.
(2) Failure to report a missing child is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) This section does not prohibit prosecution under any other law.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the parent made reasonably diligent efforts to verify the whereabouts and safety of the minor child during the period of any delay in making the report required by subsection (b).
(f) A person who knowingly makes a false allegation against a parent of failure to report a missing child as required by this section, in addition to any other penalties provided for by law, may be prosecuted for the offense of false reports under § 39-16-502, and the court may order the accuser to pay all litigation expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney’s fees, discretionary costs, and other costs incurred by the wrongly accused party in defending against the false allegation.
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