KATHMANDU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,621 children were reported to have gone missing from across Nepal during the last six months, The Himalayan Times reported on Tuesday.

    A bi-annual report of the National Center for Children at Risk (NCCR), which was made public Monday, said that the NCCR has found 795 children in the capital Kathmandu Valley, where 36.22 percent were found with the help of various organizations and the police and 28.56 percent children returned home on their own.

    The number of missing boys is higher than girls because the boys are more outgoing and mischievous, according to the report.

    Children between 11 and 13 are rarely found, while children above 17 years old have a lower missing record.

    Sushil Ghimire, spokesperson for the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, said that the missing and found cases are high in the Kathmandu Valley as the NCCR is based in Kathmandu.

    "The only means of communication for the NCCR is the police network outside the valley, " he said, adding that extending the NCCR outside the valley could help find the missing children more.

    Poverty, temptation, family tension, physical and mental torture, sexual harassment and exploitation are the major reasons behind children leaving their homes and work places, the report said.