The Internet can help search for missing children

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Posters in store windows, word of mouth, handouts by diligent parents and organizations and pictures on milk cartons have all been staples in the quest to reduce the number of missing children and to help find those who have gone missing.

Now there's a new way.

In the last few years, the computer has become one of the greatest ways for organizations to get their messages out to the masses.

Typing in a simple search command for 'missing children,' brings up dozens of web sites on the Internet from all corners of the world.

The quantity of the information is staggering. Web sites feature information about the different organizations, initiatives and programs. Picture upon picture of missing children from every country on the globe is visible.

The Polly Klaas Foundation in Petaluma, California has one of the sites that can be found on the net.

The foundation was set up on Oct. 23 of 1993, just 22 days after Polly Hannah Klaas, a vibrant, talented, 12-year-old girl was kidnapped at knife-point from her bedroom during a slumber party.

Thousands of volunteers from the San Francisco Bay area and others across the nation joined in what became an international search for the young girl.

Unfortunately, Polly's body was recovered some time after. She had been murdered.

Following the discovery of the young girl's body, the foundation created a mission statement:"Make America Safe For Our Children."

Mary Frazier, the co-managing director of the foundation, said the addition of the Internet site has been terrific in getting more information passed between other agencies committed to finding missing children and in following the foundation's mandate.

"The increased communication aspect has been wonderful" she said.

Now agencies can pool resources with just the click of a mouse.

The potential for widespread, international contacts is also a big plus for similar agencies on the web, she said.

In the year they have been in cyberspace, the Polly Klaas Foundation has received e-mail messages and requests from places as far away as Sweden and Latvia. All people have a stake in protecting children, she said.

The goals of the foundation are to educate, provide technical assistance and support for individuals and the public to prevent crimes against children, to assist in he recovery of missing children and to support the legislative and regulatory protection of children.

United States Department of Justice statistics reveal that there are more than 100,000 abduction attempts on children by strangers in the United States each year. In recent years, similar statistics show that number has gone as high as 115,000.

Actual abductions of children by strangers in the United States is averaging around 5,000 per year.

The Polly Haas Foundation offers a number of ways that parents in any country can protect their children. In the four years of its existence, the foundation has already helped more than 1,500 families to search for missing children, and has helped countless more with information. Some of that information to parents and children is just common sense suggestions which can make all the difference in the world. For example:

1. Make certain your school has a child safety awareness program.

2. If you are at home during the day, you could work as a volunteer for a Neighborhood Watch or Block Parent program. If one is not available in your community, work with neighbors to organize one.

3. Determine from your school officials or your local police department whether there is a child identification program that will carry out fingerprinting, photography and compiling of other physical descriptions of children.

4. Study proposed legislation for protecting children. If possible, join an organization lobbying to pass child protection legislation. Make your legislators aware that you want them to work on getting better laws passed.

For more information on missing children, the Polly Klaas web site can be ound at www.pollyklaas.org. The foundation has been on the Internet since Oct., 1996.

Frazier said many of the suggestions offered on the site and from pamphlets may be just common sense, but it's tragic how many parents don't practice them.

"We think it's common sense," she said, " But what's absolutely amazing is the things that parents don't think about - just the little things they don't think about."

It is those little things which can mean the difference between a happy family and a family with a missing child.

One of the biggest misconceptions is a parent's belief that his or her child couldn't be abducted because they live in a small, quiet town or neighborhood.

Frazier offered a stern warning. If it can happen in Petaluma, it can happen anywhere.

"Abductions know no zip code," she said.

Another organization dedicated to finding missing children and educating the public about the terror of child abduction is the International Centre for the Search and Recovery of Missing Children (www. icsrmc. org) based in Orlando, Fla.

The organization has been around since April of 1993 and opened up its web site in April of 1996. Since its inception, the centre has processed more than 200 missing child cases. The organization also has developed the Lighthouse Project which is a program where visitors to the web site can download 10 missing children flyers, print them off and pass them out to friends. It is hoped that those friends would do the same, eventually creating a network of information.

The organization also has a toll free number. They can be reached at 1-800-887-7762.

Canadian Web sites include Child Find Canada (www.childfind. ca), The Missing Children Society of Canada (www. silknet. ca) and the RCMP Missing Children Registry.

The registry, updated each year, offers a statistical look at the amount of missing children in Canada on a provincial and national basis as well as highlighting the different categories of abduction and precautions,similar to those offered by other missing children sites.

According to Phil Murray, the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, more than 56,000 Canadian children were reported missing in 1996. The commissioner warned that things will only get worse unless parents, community organizations, police forces and other members of the public come together to help bring these children home.

Statistics show that in 1994 the number of children reported missing in Canada was 52,000. That number rose to 55, 908 in 1995, and for 1996 it rose again to 56,672.

A provincial breakdown shown on the RCMP Missing Children Registry shows British Columbia had the highest number of missing children with more than 12,000 in 1996. Alberta had 7,500 reported cases, with Saskatchewan reporting 2,400 cases and Manitoba showing just over 3,400 cases. The Northwest Territories had 112 cases.

The majority (89 per cent) of the missing kids are runaways. Only a small number (approximately one per cent) are stranger abductions. Parental abductions make up a majority of the remaining cases.

With all the information now available on the Internet to help find missing children, it is hoped that more can be done to find children who have gone missing and more people can be informed about precautions needed to keep their children safe from harm.