Program to aid in searches for kids

Phone system targets areas

Friday, May 26, 2006

By J.C. Taylor

The Register-Mail

ALEDO - The Mercer County Sheriff's Department has added a new tool to help find missing children, elderly people suffering from such ailments as Alzheimer's disease, and the disabled.

The program is called "A Child Is Missing," according to Mercer County Sheriff Tom Thompson. He said the non-profit organization is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The program was founded in 1997 and there is no cost for law enforcement agencies to participate.

Thompson said when a person is reported missing, a sheriff's deputy takes the initial report and then contacts "A Child Is Missing."

A technician then logs in the pertinent information and records a message that will be sent via telephone to the community asking citizens to be on the lookout for the missing person. A target area is then chosen based on where the child or individual was last seen using the address and ZIP code. Phone numbers are selected any where from 100 to 5,000, depending on the area and intensity of the search, according to Thompson. If they see the missing person, they are asked to call the Sheriff's Department with the information.

He said geo-mapping and satellite imagery technology is used to expedite the search. The system can send 1,000 recorded messages within 60 seconds and they go out within 15 minutes of the officer making the call. Technicians are on call 24 hours a day and the system can be used in conjunction with the Amber Alert System.