News from NCMEC

http://local.mapquest.com/oviedo-fl

you can type in your city/state and it brings up a list of all the missing kids NCMEC has for that area!

The fourth annual, national Take 25 child safety campaign will take
place during the month of May in hundreds of communities across the
country. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC) launched the campaign in 2007 to encourage families to take 25
minutes to talk to their children about safety and abduction prevention.
A website for the campaign, www.Take25.org, lists
25 safety tips that can help save a child's life.
The campaign begins May 1 and continues through National Missing
Children's Day on May 25. Nationwide, more
than 1600 events are scheduled in nearly 500 communities in all 50
states and Canada.

Every year in America, an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing, more than 2,000
children each day. Of that number, 200,000 are abducted by family
members and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members, for which the
primary motive is sexual. Each year, 115 children are the victims of the
most serious abductions; they are taken by non-family members and
either murdered, ransomed or taken with the intent to keep. An analysis
of attempted abduction cases by NCMEC found that in 83% of the cases,
the child escaped would-be abductors through their own actions.
Thirty-two percent actively resisted (yelling, kicking, pulling away,
running away or attracting attention) while 51% recognized something was
not right and responded by walking or running away.

May 25 has been observed as National Missing Children's Day since it
was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan
in 1983. The Take 25 campaign will help parents and others teach
children to be alert to potential threats and provide simple
preventative steps that children can take to stay safe.

"We know teaching children about safety works. Children's actions enable them to escape
attempted abductions more than half of the time. It is important that
parents and others take the time to talk to their children about these
issues," said Ernie Allen, president and
CEO of NCMEC. "The campaign is designed to provide information to make
it easy for parents, grandparents and others to teach their children
about safety and prevention. There is no better way to mark National
Missing Children's Day than with an initiative designed to empower
children and help keep them safe."

The Take 25 campaign is proudly sponsored by Lifetouch, the largest
employee-owned photography company in the world. L
Lifetouch provides professional portraits for
preschools and schools, houses of worship and the retail market in all
50 states and Canada, national partners include Old Navy, a brand of
Gap, Inc., a leading global specialty retailer; the National PTA, the
United States Secret Service, Masonichip International, Community
Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and several Minor League Baseball
teams. In addition, nearly 500 other local and national organizations
have partnered with NCMEC on this campaign.

A list of cities where events will be held can be found at www.take25.org or on
the Spanish language site, www.toma25.org.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children



The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the
organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing
children's hotline which has handled more than 2,447,000 calls. It has
assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 148,400 children.
The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 842,670 reports
of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program
has reviewed and analyzed more than 33,277,300 pornography images and
videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department
of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To
learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at
1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.




SOURCE National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

When Angie Lynn Daley of Waynesboro disappeared in 1995, she was one of
hundreds of thousands missing children reported to law enforcement
officials across the country that year.





Most youngsters are found right away, according to Robert Lowery,
executive director of the missing persons division at the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
However, thousands are unsolved and some end tragically. In Daley’s
case, it was 15 years before her remains were found on a farm in
Waynecastle April 6 while police were investigating the murder of a
Hagerstown woman. Daley died of blunt force head trauma at the hands of
another person, according to Franklin County Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner.

Nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the U.S. and
the NCMEC is encouraging parents to take 25 minutes to speak with their
children about safety and abduction prevention.

Take 25

The center’s third annual Take 25 national child safety campaign kicks
off today and will run through May 25 — National Missing Children’s Day —
as a reminder to make child safety a national priority.

“We know teaching children about safety works. Children’s actions
enable them to escape attempted abductions more than half of the time.
It is important that parents and others take the time to talk to their
children about these issues,” said Ernie Allen, president and chief
executive officer of NCMEC. “The campaign is designed to provide
information to make it easy for parents, grandparents and others to
teach their children about safety and prevention. There is no better way
to mark National Missing Children’s Day than with an initiative
designed to empower children and help keep them safe.”

Hundreds of Take 25 events are scheduled across the country throughout
the month and are listed on the campaign’s Web site:

www.take25.org

Report it right away

Lowery urges parents to report a missing child immediately.

“Time is the enemy when a child is missing. Our studies show the first
few hours are the most critical,” Lowery said. “If they are the victim
of violence, it would happen within the first three hours.”

Many years

Lowery said the center, established in 1984, receives thousands of
calls each day regarding missing children, some who have been missing
for years.
“We have cases that date back to 1949,” Lowery said. “We never close a
case unless we have located that child. No matter what the circumstance
of how they went missing, those cases remain open to us.”

The center has four full-time artists who use computer-aided tools and
family features to age progress a missing child’s photo.

“We did a number of age progressions on Jaycee Dugard who had been
missing for 18 years,” he added. “When we compared ours to what she
looks like today, they were remarkably close.”

Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop near her California home in
1991 and reportedly kept captive in a compound in a convicted sex
offender’s backyard until August 2009.

Resources that assist law enforcement officials with missing child
cases include the AMBER Alert that uses local broadcasting and
transportation agencies to alert the community to the most serious of
abduction cases.

Lowery said he hasn’t seen any growing trends in missing persons cases.
He said the bulk of them are runaways. About 50,000 children are
abducted each year, most of them by a family member.

Lowery said exploitation of children on the Internet is one danger
parents need to be aware of.

“Every parent should have that conversation with their children so they
understand the dangers they face. There are a lot of people out there
that want to exploit our children. The program (Take 25) has been very
helpful in helping parents. Awareness really does have a positive
effect. Those kids are better at recognizing the methods adults may use
to try and lure them.”

Long-term cases

Lowery said the center receives thousands of calls regarding long-term
cases in which the child has been missing for at least a year. He added
many long-term cases are solved, but some end tragically with the
remains of the child found years later.

While local police were investigating the murder of Kristy Dawn Hoke of
Hagerstown, whose body was found on April 6 in a wooded area off of
Ninth Street in Waynesboro, they were led to the farm where Daley’s
remains were partially hidden by vegetation and overgrowth. Her dental
records on file with the Waynesboro Police Department helped identify
her.

No one has been charged with Daley’s murder and the investigation is
ongoing. Jeffrey Eldon Miles Sr. of State Line has been charged with
killing Hoke. He is being held in Franklin County Jail without bond
awaiting a psychiatric evaluation.

NamUs

Lowery said the center has recently launched a fairly new program
through the U.S. Department of Justice called NamUs — National Missing
and Unidentified Persons System.

“It’s a database system designed to match missing persons cases to
unidentified human remains,” Lowery explained. “All of our long-term
cases are currently being processed through the system.”

According to the NamUs Web site, there are approximately 40,000 sets of
unidentified human remains in the offices of the nation’s medical
examiners and coroners or that were buried or cremated before being
identified. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates close to 5,000
unidentified cases are handled by medical examiners and coroners in a
typical year.

Current information

The center offers free safety tips to parents regarding strangers, the
Internet and the importance of familiarizing your child with your
neighborhood and safe places to go in case they are ever in danger.

Trooper Tom Pinkerton with Pennsylvania State Police said parents
should have an up-to-date photo of their child, their current height and
weight, hair and eye color and what they may have been wearing when
they went missing to aid police in finding the child.

“We also look for more specific information like their child’s
acquaintances and places they have been known to frequent. They should
have that available so we can check on it with no time delay. With
missing persons, the longer you wait to report it, the longer it takes
to find the individual.”

The public can help the center and local law enforcement by reporting a
sighting of a missing person to the police or to a 24-hour hotline
through NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.

On the Net

www.ncmec.org

www.namus.gov

www.netsmartz.org

www.take25.org

EUGENE, Ore. -- A Eugene police detective will
be honored for his work to end the prostitution of seven minor girls and
the arrest of the pimps and johns involved in their exploitation.

On May 19, Detective Curtis Newell will receive the 2010 National
Exploited Children's Award from the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Washington, D.C.

The NCMEC says by building a rapport and trust with the minors,
Newell was able to get additional information and convince them to
testify. He also used surveillance techniques and sting operations
throughout the investigation. Law enforcement have made 28 arrests and
obtained 11 convictions so far.

Newell has created a model for mid-sized police departments to
conduct these types of investigations.

NCMEC will honor law enforcement officials from Oregon, California,
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Australia for their efforts to
recover missing children and resolve child sexual exploitation cases.

In the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, which devastated the North Gulf Coast in 2005, more than
5,000 children were separated from their parents.That is why – in
advance of a storm – parents should make sure their children carry
proper identification.Preferably, children should carry photo ID
in a waterproof bag, said Nancy McBride, national safety director for
the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.The IDs
should include name, address, birth date, medical information and home
phone number. Also include phone numbers of relatives, in and out of
state.Several organizations offer photo IDs for free or minimal
cost. Check with your local law enforcement agency.The biggest
problem is very young children, who are not able to clearly communicate.
As last resort, parents should use an indelible pen and write down the
child's name, your name and a phone number on "an accessible part of the
body," said McBride, who is based in the center's North Palm Beach
office."You can always get it off with alcohol later," she said.
"When you've got a little child who's not verbal, it's almost impossible
to find out who they are." The center's website,
missingkids.com, also offers help on getting photo IDs. On the left-side
tool bar, click on "disaster preparation." The center also has a
24-hour hot line: 1-800-843-5678.Other suggestions:Carry
current photos of your children, especially if you evacuate. Give
relatives outside the area (or other emergency contacts) photos, dates
of birth, medical and other essential information.The designated
emergency care provider should have a medical release form for each
child signed by the parent, the name and phone number of the family
doctor and copy of family's insurance card.Coach children, if old
enough, on whom to contact if parents cannot be found.If forced
to evacuate your home, engage children in a game of What Do I Look Like?
Have your child describe what you look like and what you're wearing.
Note, too, how the child is dressed.

Following are remarks by Attorney General Eric Holder at NCMEC on National Missing Children's Day:



Thank you, Laurie [Robinson], for your kind words and for your
leadership in serving families, children and communities in need. You,
and your staff in the Office of Justice Programs, have brought the
Justice Department's capabilities and outreach efforts to a new level,
at a time when they're needed most.


I also want to thank Jeff [Slowikowski] for his outstanding
stewardship of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. I'm consistently impressed by, and grateful for, all Jeff
and his team are doing to bring together families, advocates, law
enforcement officers and policymakers - including many of those we're
honored to have with us today.


I'm pleased to welcome each of you. And I'm especially grateful that
Commissioner Pierluisi, Director Sullivan, Inspector General Bell,
Director Clarke, Chief Postal Inspector Gilligan and Deputy Inspector
General Stephens have joined us.


Let me also extend a special welcome to Ernie Allen. As all of you
know well, Ernie's vision for and leadership of the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children has helped to build one of the
country's - and, now, the world's - most effective and important
nonprofits.


Last fiscal year alone, the National Center answered nearly 90,000
calls on its Missing Child Hotline and assisted in the recovery of
nearly 14,000 children. Since its creation, it has helped to recover
more than 145,000 kids.


The Justice Department is proud to count the National Center as a
partner. And, today, I'm pleased to announce an award to the National
Center of more than $30 million to support and continue its critical
work.


As we consider how these new resources will enhance our future
efforts, I am reminded that ten years ago today - May 25, 2000 - I spoke
at that year's National Missing Children's Day, when I served as Deputy
Attorney General. Although a full decade has passed, that afternoon
stands out rather vividly.


"In my heart," I said, "I believe the most enduring and important"
work of the Department "is...protecting children. Our kids need safe
homes, streets, and schools, where they can learn and grow into
productive members of our society." One decade later, I still believe
that as strongly and deeply as ever. Fortunately, all of you do, too.


So many of you help to lead this work - both the award recipients we
honor today, as well as the unsung heroes who work, day in and day out,
to recover missing children and bring families back together. Many of
the advocates here in this Great Hall have turned tragedy in their own
homes into a commitment, and opportunity, to help others. Many of the
officers have found ways to fuse cutting-edge technologies with
traditional methods of law enforcement and recovery - harnessing the
Internet in new ways while never losing sight of the value of knocking
on doors and tacking up posters across town. And all of you have been
strong, empathetic, and utterly determined in the face of devastating
circumstances and difficult odds.


And you've made a difference. Today, we honor an FBI special agent
who utilized every imaginable recovery technique in a heroic effort to
find a 2-year-old girl who'd been taken from her parents; an Assistant
District Attorney who summoned the compassion and courage necessary to
ensure the recovery of a sexual assault victim and the imprisonment of
her offender; and employees of a postal facility who went above and
beyond the call of duty to recover an abducted 9-year-old.


These examples, of course, are only a snapshot of what's been
accomplished by the people in and beyond this room. There are so many
encouraging stories; and there are countless inspiring examples. In
every case, however, we see a common theme: people devoting their
energy, time, and talent to help children and families in need.


It's worth saying again that supporting and advancing this work is,
and will continue to be, a top priority for the Department of Justice.
Before the media, before the experts, before anyone else, families in
crisis turn - first - to law enforcement. In these officers, desperate
parents, grandparents, and guardians place their trust, as well as their
hopes of seeing their missing children again. It's an extraordinary
responsibility - one that our law enforcement community meets with great
speed, compassion, and determination.


Before I spoke at this event in 2000, we had spent the prior years
laying important groundwork for transforming our approach to handling
incidents of missing children. Following the foundation of the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children, our nation saw the rise of
grassroots charities in every state. And the Justice Department took
bold action as well. In 1995, the Department launched the Federal
Agency Task Force, and, in 1998, the Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force Program. These efforts helped to solidify key partnerships
between law enforcement, families, and advocates - and they led to a
paradigm shift in our approach to solving this national problem.


But over the past decade, I'm proud to report that we've made even
greater strides. For example, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Force Program has grown from ten task forces in 1998 to 61 today.
Last year's Recovery Act invested $50 million in Internet Crimes Against
Children initiatives. And nearly a quarter of a billion dollars has
been awarded to the task forces to expand the number of investigators,
analysts, and support staff on the front lines of efforts to keep our
kids safe.


The Federal Agency Task Force has seen meaningful growth, further
streamlining our work to ensure that missing children are recovered
quickly and their abductors are punished swiftly. There are now Missing
Children Clearinghouses in every state, and the Department works with
all of them to foster collaboration and communication. And we're
continuing to update our resources and support literature for parents
and families. That said, I'd like to recognize Patty Wetterling for her
co-authorship of the original Family Survival Guide - which has been a
service to so many families in need - and for her recent work to
modernize the guide for 2010. Thank you, Patty.


In gatherings all across the country today, we not only celebrate our
progress, but we also reflect on the one disappearance that started it
all - and spurred our nation to long-overdue action: the abduction of
six-year-old Etan Patz from Lower Manhattan, 31 years ago today. May
25th, 1979, began like any normal day - breakfast around the table,
gathering supplies for school. Then, as with so many tragic cases,
"normal" rapidly devolved into "nightmare." Etan's loss, and his
family's heartbreak, helped to spark an historic commitment and inspired
a national missing children's movement that has brought new
legislation, new awareness, and new methods for tracking down missing
kids and brining them home.


Today, each of you honors Etan's memory, and the lives of every lost
and missing child, with your commitment and your selfless contributions.


The extraordinary efforts of our awardees - and the many advocates,
policymakers, and law enforcement officials here today - have awakened
family after family from these nightmares, and, when there can be no
solace, helped them to recover from unthinkable loss.


On behalf of the Department, I am proud to call all of you partners.
And I'm grateful for your help in achieving the progress that's been
made over the past decade. As I said in 2000 - and as I continue to
believe today - there is no more important priority that we, as stewards
of our nation's justice system and protectors of our communities, have
than bringing our kids home.


Thank you all. And congratulations to this year's awardees.

While many parents and guardians feel they are faced with new
and unprecedented challenges when trying to keep their children safer in today’s
fast-paced and increasingly global society, the National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children offers these commonsense, general safety
tips to help families put these challenges into perspective.

1. Make sure you know where each of your children is at all
   times. Know your children’s friends and be clear with your children about
   the places and homes they may visit. Make it a rule for your
   children to check-in with you when they arrive at or depart from a
   particular location and when there is a change in plans. You should also
   let them know when you’re running late or if your plans have changed to
   show the rule is for safety purposes and not being used to
   “check up” on them.
   
2. Never leave children unattended in a vehicle, whether it is
   running or not. Children should never be left unsupervised or allowed
   to spend time alone or with others in vehicles as the potential
   dangers to their safety outweigh any perceived convenience or “fun.”
   Remind children to never hitchhike, approach a vehicle,
   or engage in a conversation with anyone within a vehicle
   they do not know and trust. Also they should never go anywhere with
   anyone without first getting your permission.
   
3. Be involved in your children’s activities. As an active
   participant you’ll have a better opportunity to observe how the adults in
   charge interact with your children. If you are concerned about
   anyone’s behavior, take it up with the sponsoring organization.
   
4. Listen to your children. Pay attention if they tell you they
   don’t want to be with someone or go somewhere. This may be an
   indication of more than a personality conflict or lack of interest in the
   activity or event.
   
5. Notice when anyone shows one or all of your children a great
   deal of attention or begins giving them gifts. Take the time to
   talk to your children about the person and find out why that person is
   acting in this way.
   
6. Teach your children they have the right to say NO
   to any unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by
   others and get out of those situations as quickly as possible. If
   avoidance is not an option, children should be taught to kick, scream, and resist.
   When in such a situation, teach them to loudly yell, “This
   person is not my father/mother/guardian,” and then immediately tell
   you if this happens. Reassure them you’re there to help and it
   is okay to tell you anything.
   
7. Be sensitive to any changes in your children’s behavior or
   attitude. Encourage open communication and learn how to be an
   active listener. Look and listen to small cues and clues indicating
   something may be troubling your children, because children are not
   always comfortable disclosing disturbing events or feelings. This may be because
   they are concerned about your reaction to their problems. If your
   children do confide problems to you, strive to remain calm, reassuring,
   and nonjudgmental. Listen compassionately to their concern, and
   work with them to get the help they need to resolve the problem.
   
8. Be sure to screen babysitters and caregivers. Many
   jurisdictions now have a public registry allowing parents and guardians to
   check out individuals for prior criminal records and sex offenses.
   Check references with other families who have used the caregiver or
   babysitter. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to
   see how your children are doing. Ask your children how the experience
   with the caregiver was, and carefully listen to the responses.
   
9. Practice basic safety skills with your children. Make an
   outing to a mall or park a “teachable” experience in which your children
   practice checking with you, using pay telephones, going to the
   restroom with a friend, and locating the adults who may be able to help
   if they need assistance. Remember, allowing your children to wear
   clothing or carry items in public on which their name is displayed may
   bring about unwelcome attention from inappropriate people looking
   for a way to start a conversation with your children.
   
10. Remember there is no substitute for your attention and
    supervision. Being available and taking time to really know and listen to
    your children helps build feelings of safety and security.
    

Q & A: About Child Safety
What are the most important things parents and
guardians should know when talking to their children about this issue?

• Don’t forget your older children. Children from age 11 to
  17 are equally at risk of being victimized. At the same time
  you are giving your older children more freedom, make sure they
  understand the important safety rules as well.
  
• When you speak to your children, do so in a calm, reassuring
  manner. Children do not need to be frightened to get the point across.
  Fear may actually work at cross-purposes to the safety message,
  because fear may be paralyzing to children.
  
• Speak openly about safety issues. Children will be less
  likely to come to you if the issue is enshrouded in secrecy. If they
  feel you are comfortable discussing the subject matter, they may be
  more forthcoming to you.
  
• Do not confuse children with the concept of “strangers.”
  Children do not have the same understanding of who a stranger is as an
  adult might. The “stranger-danger” message is not effective,
  as danger to children is often much greater from someone they
  or you know.
  
• Practice what you talk about. You may think your children
  understand your message, but until they are able to incorporate it into
  their daily lives, it may not be clearly understood. Find
  opportunities to practice “what if” scenarios.
  

• Teach your children it is more important to get out of
  a threatening situation than it is to be polite. They should
  be taught just because someone tries to engage them in conversation
  doesn't mean they should talk to that person or forget their safety rules.
  They also need to know it is okay to tell you what happened and
  they won’t be a tattletale.
  

What are the most important things parents and
guardians should tell their children about this issue?

• Children should always check first with
  you or another trusted adult before going anywhere, accepting
  anything, or getting into a vehicle with anyone. This applies to older
  children as well.
  
• Children should not go out alone and should always take
  a friend with them when they go places or play outside.
  
• It’s okay to say no if someone tries to touch them or treats them in a way to make them
  feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. When this happens they need to
  get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
  
• Children need to know they may tell you or another trusted adult if they feel scared, uncomfortable, or
  confused.
  
• Children need to know they have the right to be safe. And when
  needing help children should keep asking until they get the help they need.
  

What is the biggest myth surrounding this issue?
Danger from strangers is the biggest myth when discussing the
issue of child safety. In the majority of cases the perpetrator is
someone the parents/guardians or children know, and this person may be
in a position of trust or responsibility to a child and family.

What advice would you offer parents and guardians who
want to talk to their child about this issue?
Parents and guardians should choose opportunities or
“teachable” moments to reinforce safety skills. If an incident occurs in your
community, and your children ask you about it, speak frankly but with reassurance.
Explain to your children you want to discuss the safety rules
with them so they will know what to do if they are ever confronted with a
difficult situation. Make sure you have “safety nets” in place, so
your children know there is always someone available to help them.