Amber Dubois
A 14-year-old high school freshman, Amber Dubois, vanished
on the way to her Escondido, Calif. high school. Authorities in Southern
California are looking at a maroon or burgundy colored pick-up truck that can
be seen on surveillance camera footage entering and exiting the parking lot of
Amber's school on Feb. 13, 2009 -- the day she went missing.
Jaycee Lee Dugard
Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped on June 10, 1991, when she
was 11 years old. Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of
her home in South Lake Tahoe, California, United States. She was missing for
over 18 years.
Amber Hagerman
On January 13, 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, when a neighbor heard her scream. The neighbor saw a man pull Amber off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck, and drive away at a high rate of speed. The neighbor called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Arlington Police and the FBI interviewed other neighbors and searched for the suspect and vehicle. Local radio and television stations covered the story in their regular newscasts. Four days later Amber’s body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her kidnapping and murder still remain unsolved.
Adam Walsh
On July 27, 1981, 6-year-old Adam Walsh and his mother Revé went to a department store about a mile away from their home to shop for lamps. When they entered the store Adam saw several children playing video games on a television monitor and asked if he could stay to play. His mother let him stay and went to the lamp department, which was about 75 feet away. Because the lamp she wanted was not in stock she returned rather quickly, less than 10 minutes later, but couldn’t find Adam. After looking for Adam on her own for two hours, someone finally called the local police department. By the end of that week thousands of fliers with Adam’s photograph were distributed through the local area. Sixteen days after Adam disappeared from the store his body was found and identified.
These are just a few of the names of the more high-profile cases of missing children, but unfortunately they are only the tip of the iceberg. Children go missing everyday, all across our nation, and beyond. It happens without warning or notice, and it only takes a split second or two when you may not be paying close attention to your child or children. These child Predators are out there among us, and most often they blend into our communities like “regular folk”. They might even be family members, neighbors, teachers, coaches or even our trusted childcare guardians; it’s hard to identify them until they strike.
This blog entry however is not about the preventative measures one can take to avoid becoming a victim, but more about taking action when you, or someone else near to you, is directly affected. Timing is of the essence and we all need to know what to do, how to do it, and most importantly…DOING IT without delay!
We need to take action as a community. We need to look after one another and our children. We must be more diligent in identifying “odd” situations, and becoming more involved, even if it turns out to be a false alarm, or makes you feel somewhat uncomfortable. As the adage suggests: “Better safe than sorry”.
If my child went missing, I would want everyone to STOP what they were doing and offer me and my child every last drop of their attention, diligence and support in finding her, caring for me, and continuing these efforts until she was found…safely! Nothing else in the whole world should or would matter to anyone else during this incident. Businesses would shut down. All first responders would drop all non-life threatening service calls and rush to assist me. Schools and colleges would empty out into the streets and contribute to the search. Freeways would be closed and every vehicle stopped and searched. Every news and media outlet would present and showcase my story to the world and urge everyone to shut off their televisions and radios, put down their newspapers and magazines, and get out to help find my baby. Twitterers would be tweeting like crazy. Texters would be texting frantically. Chatters would be chatting like never before, and all they will be focused on is finding my missing child. And then, just as the local baker, after finding my daughter in his tempting shop of delectables, is escorting my child back towards me on the hushed and crowded sidewalk, everyone silently tearing and bursting with excited and relieved emotions, an eruption of applause and cheers fills the street as my little girl leaps into my arms and hugs me as if we hadn’t seen each other for years, and not a peep of frustration nor an utterance of disappointment will ever be felt nor heard; no questions asked, and nothing owed. No, this will simply be the status quo for community involvement, and the adherence of the “It takes a village” mentality.
Unfortunately, this is not how the real world works, and so, we must prepare our own plan. We’ll need a checklist and action plan in our wallet. We will have already had our Child ID photo and fingerprinting packet completed and placed in a safe, yet easily accessible location, so that we can offer it to our local law enforcement agency at a moment’s notice. We will take down license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions of any and all vehicles that just don’t seem right - Maybe there’s a strange man sitting in the driver’s seat just outside of the playground or park, and he doesn’t seem to have any purpose in this area. Or perhaps you notice a car circling the block. Get a good look at him and his passengers (if any), for you might need to offer all of this information to the police if something were to go badly.
This isn’t about being or becoming paranoid, this is about being aware and being a part of the solution. What if it were your child?
Call Theia to make an appointment to have your child’s photo and fingerprints taken so that you will be prepared for such an unthinkable incident.
What to Do if Your Child is Missing:
* If your child is missing from home, search the house checking closets, piles of laundry, in and under beds, inside large appliances, and inside vehicles, including the trunk/storage area, wherever a child may crawl or hide.
* If you still cannot find your child, immediately call your local law enforcement agency.
After you have reported your child missing to law enforcement, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on our toll-free telephone number: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). Or you can use our Live Hotline to talk to NCMEC through our web site.
Code Adam
Code Adam is a powerful search tool for lost and possibly abducted children currently used in tens of thousands of establishments across the nation. The program is simple to learn and to implement: a special Code Adam alert is issued on the premises when a customer reports a missing child.
Offered free of charge to participants, it is one of the country’s largest child-safety programs, created and named in memory of 6-year-old Adam Walsh.
How it Works
Code Adam decals are posted at the entrance of participating buildings/establishments. Employees of participating establishments are trained to take the following steps when a Code Adam is activated:
1. Obtain a detailed description of the child and what he or she is wearing.
2. Go to the nearest in-house telephone and page “Code Adam,” describing the child’s physical features and clothing. Designated employees immediately stop working and look for the child. Designated employees monitor front entrances to ensure the child does not leave the premises.
3. If the child is not found within 10 minutes, call law enforcement.
4. If the child is found and appears to have been lost and unharmed, reunite the child with the searching family member.
5. If the child is found accompanied by someone other than a parent or legal guardian, make reasonable efforts to delay their departure without putting the child, staff, or visitors at risk. Immediately notify law enforcement and give details about the person accompanying the child.
6. Cancel the Code Adam page after the child is found or law enforcement arrives.
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