The Missing Children Incident

The Missing Children Incident was an event that occurred at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza around 1980s, committed by William Afton. In Five Nights at Freddy's, the incident was first mentioned in the numerous newspaper clippings can occasionally be seen replacing the Rules for Safety sign, normally appearing in the East Hall Corner.

During June 26th of an unspecified year most likely 1985, long before the events of the first game, a total of five children had gradually gone missing at the pizzeria. Police suspect that a man had dressed up in a costume resembling one of the animatronics (Spring Bonnie), as implied on Night 6's phone call in the second game, and lured the children to a back room, where he murdered them.

The four mascots - Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken, and Foxy the Pirate had a particularly foul odor and what appeared to be "blood and mucus" around their eyes and mouths, which concerned parents had interpreted as "reanimated carcasses", and as based on Phone Guy's remarks in his Night 1 phone message from the first game, the animatronics haven't been cleaned in their twenty-plus years of service, which would explain the nasty odor. The stench could also be attributed to a popular theory that the missing children were stuffed into the animatronic suits after they were killed, and that their decomposing bodies were producing the repulsive smell. Supposedly, due to the risk of their servos locking up from lack of use, the animatronics have been 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 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.
 * 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."
 * 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."
 * 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

Theories and Speculation

 * Mentioned by The Freddy Files, a popular yet now-debunked theory claims that Mike Schmidt was responsible for the incident. A variation of two certain theories speculates that the murderer may have been a previous night guard, which would explain why the animatronics are so determined to reach Mike Schmidt (and supposedly Phone Guy before him, as heard during Night 4's phone call). Since the killings may have occurred after-hours, this theory raises the possibility that the victim's 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 Afton has struck multiple times and that there is a total of six 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 Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator where the sixth, unknown child turned out to be Charlotte Emily, the daughter of his business partner Henry Emily making her the very first victim Afton killed way 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, as supported by Toy Chica luring the students "inside" then proceed to murder them and stuff their body parts in her bag.
 * The story Into the Pit suggests that the missing children incident took place in the year 1985, as this would fit into the timeline placement before the events of the FNaF 2 in 1987 and after the events of FNaF 4 in 1983.