"Everybody always thinks it happens to somebody else," said Renette Parker, assistant coordinator of the Missing Child Centeri Hawai'i. "These are times when people are willing to discuss it. We try to let people know that it's possible."

Kahealani, an 'Aiea Elementary School sixth-grader, disappeared Tuesday afternoon. A hiker discovered a body believed to be hers yesterday on the 'Aiea Loop Trail.

"We always teach our kids to respect adults," Parker said. "They can say no. They need to say no sometimes."

Most of the children who attend 'Aiea Elementary live at the Pu'uwai Momi complex in Makalapa, where Kahealani was last seen.

School counselor John Erickson said children have been told to look out for each other.

"We're telling them to look out for strange cars and people they don't recognize," Erickson said. "Report it to their parent or an adult they trust. Don't ever be without a friend around."

Francis Harper, who has children in fifth, third and first grades at 'Aiea Elementary, said he gave his children one instruction: "They have to stick together."

After Kahealani disappeared, Harper began driving his children to and from school instead of letting them ride the bus. "It makes them feel safe," he said.

If they haven't already, parents should have a conversation with their children, Parker said.

"Talk about the ways children can help themselves," she said. "They can do the buddy system in a family that has more than one child going to a school. The kids can meet before or after school in a designated spot. Talk about what kids have seen happen. Kids don't talk about what they see all the time."

Don't simply tell your child not to talk to strangers, Parker said. Children often don't understand the concept of a stranger and could be harmed by someone they know. They need to recognize inappropriate or threatening behavior instead.

"If anyone makes them feel uncomfortable or weird about something, they need to make sure they talk to their parents or an adult," Parker said.

She said all children should know 911, their parents' work numbers, their home phone number and where their parents are to be located in an emergency.

They should never talk to people who pull up in cars, always tell their parents where they are going and never go somewhere with an adult — even a relative — without telling their parents first, she said.

Parents should keep at home an identification kit with children's fingerprints, a hair sample, dental records, recent picture and physical description, Parker said.

And if a child is believed to be missing, call police immediately.

National statistics show that 74 percent of children murdered during an abduction are killed within the first three hours.