Lincoln – Each year, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office invites fifth graders from across the state to participate in the Nebraska Missing Children’s Day poster contest. The posters are intended to raise awareness of missing children and remind parents, guardians, and caregivers to make the safety of their children a priority.

Molly Bracht from West Point, Nebraska is the 2023 first-place contest winner. The winning poster portrays a little girl in brightly colored clothes, sitting with her arms hugged around her legs with a dark cityscape contrasted behind her. Molly wrote, “She has her head down because she is stressed, sad, and anxious because she is not with her family.” In her essay, Molly said, “She is wearing bright clothes against a very dark city; because in the moment, she has to be bright and lift up her spirits so she can find her family.”

As the winner of the statewide contest, Molly’s poster will be submitted to a national competition with the U.S. Department of Justice. The national winner will be awarded at the annual ceremony in May recognizing National Missing Children’s Day.