I'd at least check every house in the street before I called in the cops.
This response was hysterical.
You do it your way, I'll do it mine! I called the police about 20 minutes after I found my kids missing. Of course it took me that long to figure out that my daughters new school clothes were gone!
There are 7 registered sex offenders within walking distance of my house. If I had known that when my kids disappeared...I would have called within seconds of finding them gone!
Finally you get it. In five minutes someone may spot a stranger carrying the child. In four hours, someone may find the child dead in a ditch. BIG difference.