The Missing Children Incident

The Missing Children Incident
The newspapers that mentioned the incident from the first game.
Information
Type	Kidnapping and Killing Spree
Date	1980s (estimated)
Location	Freddy Fazbear's Pizza (first location)

Not what you’re looking for? See The Missing Children or The Missing Children (Novel Trilogy).

The Missing Children Incident, or MCI for short was an event that occurred at a Freddy Fazbear's Pizza location presumably in 1985, a series of murders committed by William Afton. In the first game, the incident was mentioned in newspaper clippings occasionally seen replacing the "Rules for Safety" sign, normally appearing in the East Hall.

History

During June 26th, long before the events of the first and second games and after the events of the fourth game, a total of five children presumably named Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz and Cassidy went missing at the pizzeria. Police suspected that a man dressed up in a costume resembling one of the animatronics, as implied on Night 6's phone call in the second game and lured them to a hidden room where they were murdered.

The four mascots - Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken and Foxy the Pirate Fox had particularly foul odors and what appeared to be "blood and mucus" around their eyes and mouths, which concerned parents and legal guardians, and it was interpreted as "reanimated carcasses". Based on Phone Guy's remarks in his Night 1 message from the first game, the animatronics hadn't been cleaned in their twenty-plus years of service which would explain the stench. It could also be attributed to the fact that the missing children were stuffed into the animatronic suits along with the endoskeletons after they were killed, and their decomposing bodies produced the disgusting smell. Allegedly, due to the risk of their servos locking up from non-use, the animatronics were left in a "free-roaming mode" at night over the years. They used to be able to roam freely during the day as well, but the Bite of '87 caused the pizzeria's parent company to put a stop to this.

Documents

Kids vanish at local pizzeria - bodies not found.

Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th. While video surveillance identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found and are presumed dead.

Police think that the suspect dressed as a mascot to earn the children's trust.

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Five children now reported missing. Suspect convicted.

Five children are now linked to the incident at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where a man dressed as a cartoon mascot lured them into a back room.

While the suspect has been charged, the bodies themselves were never found.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been fighting an uphill battle ever since to convince families to return to the pizzeria.

"It's a tragedy."

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Local pizzeria threatened with shutdown over sanitation.

Local pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been threatened again with shutdown by the health department over reports of foul odor coming from the much-loved animal mascots.

Police were contacted when parents reportedly noticed what appeared to be blood and mucus around the eyes and mouths of mascots. One parent alikened them to "reanimated carcasses".

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Local pizzeria said to close by year's end.

After a long struggle to stay in business after the tragedy that struck there many years ago, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has announced that it will close by year's end.

Despite a year-long search for a buyer, companies seem unwilling to be associated with the company.

"These characters will live on. In the hearts of kids, these characters will live on." - CEO

Similar Incidents

Take Cake to the Children Murder

A similar event occurred presumably after the fourth game at either Fredbear's Family Diner or the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza when Henry Emily's daughter Charlotte Emily was found dead just outside, having been the first victim of William.

New Pizzeria Murders

Prior to the second game at a newer location, William, apparently using a fake identity murdered another five children and made sure no one suspected anything that time; following this, he vanished.

Theories and Speculation

"I was the first! I have seen everything!" This section archives a lot of theories and speculation, which usually occurs from pre-release media, or just things that are still unknown, so please keep that in mind while reading. The page will continue to be updated with the most accurate information as more solid evidence is supplied.

• Mentioned in The Freddy Files, a popular yet now-debunked theory claims Mike Schmidt was responsible. A variation of two theories speculates that the murderer may have been a previous night guard, which would explain why the animatronics are determined to reach Mike (and supposedly Jeremy Fitzgerald, Fritz Smith, and Phone Guy before him). Since the killings may have occurred after-hours, this theory raises the possibility that the souls haunting the animatronics want revenge but can only remember for certain that they think the killer might have been the night guard.
• In the "Take Cake to the Children" death minigame in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the murder of a single child is witnessed. This would indicate that William has struck multiple times and there is a total of six (now eleven) known children killed. This is supported in the "Happiest Day" minigame in Five Nights at Freddy's 3, where the six masked children gather around the cake before disappearing. This theory was later confirmed in the "Security Puppet's Minigame" and good ending of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator where the sixth unknown child turned out to be Charlotte, the daughter of William's business partner Henry, making her the very first victim before the incident took place.
• The Toy Chica: The High School Years intermission from Ultimate Custom Night was heavily implied to be a metaphor to the Missing Children Incident and other child murders, as supported by Toy Chica luring students "inside" and proceeding to murder them and stuff their body parts in her bag.
• William Afton indirectly alludes to the incident and his other murders in Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery when he gloats about the dead children by boasting that hiding would not save the player. This also implies that the aforementioned children did at least make an attempt to prevent their fates before they died.
• Into the Pit suggests the incident took place in 1985, as this would fit into the timeline placement before the events of FNaF 2 in 1987 and after the events of FNaF 4 in 1983.
  • This is further supported by the original novels which have many parallels to the games; in the books the incident also took place in 1985.
• During the Princess Quest ending of Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2, the player must light torches on the gravestones of Susie (represented by the Chica memory doll), Fritz (Foxy), Gabriel (Freddy Fazbear), Jeremy (Bonnie), Cassidy (Golden Freddy), and finally Charlotte (The Puppet) in that order.
  • This could potentially hint at the order of the killings, supported by Withered Chica's Ultimate Custom Night quote "I was the first! I have seen everything!"
  • However, other information about the timeline of the killings implies that Charlotte (The Puppet) was the first child to be killed, contradicting the implications of the gravestones' order.