August 2003 - An Ounce of Protection IT'S A FEELING OF PANIC AND FRIGHT UNLIKE ANY OTHER. Adrenaline courses through your veins, causing your jaw and fingers to tingle and your arms to shake. The child who was in your control a moment ago is gone - vanished, it seems, from the face of the earth. It can happen in a mall, at a park, even from your home. It's a parent's worst nightmare, and it's repeated every 40 seconds in the United States - a child is discovered to be missing. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, of the 800,000 children reported missing each year, a little over half run away, about 350,000 are abducted by family members, and 4,600 are kidnapped by non-family members. In recent years, the issue of child abduction and rapid dissemination of information in an effort to quickly locate those children has become a national priority. In 1993 the nation was riveted by the kidnapping of Polly Klaas. Two months after she was abducted at knife-point from her home during a slumber party, her kidnapper led authorities to her strangled body. Three years later, young Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle when a neighbor heard the girl scream. The neighbor then saw Amber being pulled off her bike and thrown into the front seat of a pickup truck. Four days later, Amber's body was found in a drainage ditch our miles away. Her throat had been cut. These tragedies developed a national awareness of the issues surrounding missing children. The KlaasKids foundation has been educating the public on the prevention of child abduction and also aids in the search for missing children. The now famous "Amber Alerts" were established to aid in quickly notifying the public of a missing child through an emergency alert system utilizing the media and a system of highway signs. ON THE HOME FRONT While anything more than miscommunication over a child's whereabouts is rare in Beaufort County, officials and concerned corporate partners are nonetheless taking steps to assure that a missing child is quickly found or, under the worst circumstances, identified. "In the event that a child goes missing, it's critical to have all information together in one place," said Midge Scott of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. When a child is missing or abducted, the first 24 hours are the most important in terms of the police investigation and public notification. "When a child is first reported missing, we'll send a road officer to the scene to gather all the pertinent information," said Scott. "If someone has seen the child being put in a car, we'll issue a BOLO (be on the lookout) for that vehicle. If a vehicle matching that description is found, and we have probable cause, we'll fingerprint the car. If we come up with a matching print of the child, we'll know we're going in the right direction. That's one reason having their fingerprints on file is so important." If a child is believed to have wandered away, the K-9 unit will be called out, along with additional personnel who will set up a perimeter around the search site. Either way, the more information law enforcement officials have concerning the child, or adult, the better equipped they'll be to enlist the aid of the public. With this need for information in mind, the National Child Identification Program was created to help provide a child's ID and fingerprint kit to every firstgrader in South Carolina. Sponsored in part by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the American Football Coaches Association and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, the program distributes an inkless fingerprint identification kit that parents are encouraged to fill out and store for safe keeping. Locally, Palmetto Electric Cooperative, a part of the Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is heavily involved in the program. Scott oversees the free child ID program that has, in the past five years, seen thousands of children and older adults fingerprinted. "We fingerprint the kids, then ask the parents to take the forms home and fill out the information, including blood type, weight and distinguishing marks. It's really important to keep a current school photo and even a few strands of hair in a zip-lock bag for DNA typing if it ever became necessary to positively identify a body," Scott said. According to Scott, older adults, especially those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, are also important to ID. "We like to do retirement homes, because an Alzheimer's patient who wanders away is handled the same a child," she said. Zachary Scott, 9, is fingerprinted for his Child ID Card by Beaufort County Sheriff's Deputy Midge Scott. part of a promotion to raise funds for the kits, according to Palmetto Electric Vice President Jimmy Baker. "With the money the cooperatives have raised, we were able to distribute child ID kits to every child at this year's Clemson-Carolina game," said Baker. "Ideally, we'd like to give a kit to every child in the state, but we'll need to raise around $75,000 just to get them to the approximately 50,000 first graders." Baker said this year's inaugural hole-in-one event raised an estimated $8,400 towards that goal, exceeding their estimates, with over 400 golfers participating. Palmetto Electric is one of 20 co-ops in the state and there are 600 nationally. According to the National Child Identification Program, less than two percent of parents had a record of their child's fingerprints when they began distributing kits in 1997. Now, more than 13 million ID kits have been given out, with a goal of protecting all 60 million children in the U.S. Though the FBI encourages the nation's 18,000 law enforcement agencies to participate in the program, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said they like to take the concept to a higher level by gathering even more data. "We customize the information and prints to the child's age," said Scott. "For infants and babies still clenching their fists, we'll print their feet and toes. And we encourage parents to annually update the child's picture as their looks can change so quickly." TEACHABLE MOMENTS Scott says she also finds the program helps establish a positive rapport between children and the police. "When we do fingerprinting, we like to bring along things kids think are cool, like the motorcycle, K-9 dogs, even the unmarked Camero, said Scott. If a child is really afraid of the police, we'll teach the parent how to print them. But parents shouldn't ask a child if they want to be fingerprinted. It shouldn't be a question; it should be, 'We're going to have it done because it could save your life.'" But, said Scott, completing a fingerprint ID kit is only one part of a child safety program. "Parents need to teach their kids about 'stranger danger,'" she said. "No adult with a 'lost dog' or a 'lost child' should need your child's help; neither should the child accept candy or presents from a stranger. It's also important that they understand that not all bad guys look like the boogey man." Scott also advises teaching children to tell an adult about it right away should they ever be approached. In May of this year, President George Bush signed the "Protect Act of 2003." This program will help create a national "Amber" alert to aid in the distribution of vital information when children are in danger. An estimated $30 million will be used to enhance and connect programs that are currently being used on local, regional and state levels. The bill also provides greater supervision for sex offenders, increases penalties for those who murder children, and sets mandatory life sentences for twice- convicted sex offenders. But in the end, the war on missing children really begins at home and in the school. Children returning to the Hilton Head Middle School will be fingerprinted during their Otter Paw Picnic. As many as 500 children could be processed that day alone, said Scott. She estimates it will take a full three hours. "It's not scary, they just put a little pressure on your fingers" said nine-year-old Zachary Scott during a recent fingerprinting session. "It's worth it 'cause if I'm lost or taken, it will help the police find me." Any group interested in making arrangements for a free child ID fingerprinting program can contact Midge Scott of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at 843-470-3271. For more information, or to contribute to the National Child Identification Program, contact Jimmy Baker of Palmetto Electric at 843-208-5550 or visit their website at www.childidprogram.com.