Concerning the Attempted Abduction

Over the past couple of weeks we have had several incidents involivng young kids and teens that have been approached and one reported incident that involves a teenager who reported an attempted abduction from a man in a vehicle. We have compiled some information on steps you can take below from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Please click on the letter from Chief Majenski in addition to reviewing the information below.

DIAL 911 Act immediately if you believe that your child is missing. ANONYMOUS TIP LINE

Parents, guardians, and adults who care for children face constant challenges when trying to help keep children safer in today's fast-paced world. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) offers easy-to-use safety resources to help address these challenges. For decades, children were taught to stay away from "strangers." But this concept is difficult for children to grasp and often the perpetrator is someone the child knows. It is more beneficial to help build children's confidence and teach them to respond to a potentially dangerous situation, rather than teaching them to look out for a particular type of person.

Report a Sighting of a Missing Child

Please report any information regarding a missing child to the Call Center at the NCME. They have operators available 24-hours a day to receive "sightings" by telephone or via the Internet. Telephone: Call our toll-free Hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST® (1-800-843-5678) 24-hours a day. You can also find more information (including a "Push to Talk" button) on this page of the NCME

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 trunks—wherever a child may crawl or hide.

If you still cannot find your child, immediately call your local law enforcement agency.

If your child disappears in a store, notify the store manager or security office. Then immediately call your local law-enforcement agency. Many stores have a Code Adam plan of action— if a child is missing in the store, employees immediately mobilize to look for the missing child.

When you call law enforcement, provide your child's name, date of birth, heigth, weight, and any other unique identifiers such as eyeglasses and braces. Tell them when you noticed that your child was missing and what clothing he or she was wearing.

Request that your child's name and identifying information be immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File.

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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.

Increase awareness and help out!

Please visit this page for further information on how you can help increase awareness.

CYBERSAFETY EDUCATIONAL LINKS

With websites like MySpace and Facebook and many others, it has become too easy for children to post pictures and personal information on the world wide web about themselves. Please visit "Think Before You Post", this site has an extremely informative section on how to protect and educate your children in the use of the internet.

When you visit web sites you can read newspapers, tour museums, check out libraries, visit distant lands, play games, look at pictures, shop, or do research to help you with your homework. There are millions of web sites on just about every subject imaginable.Some web sites are awesome, others are boring, and some contain so-called “adult” images and other material that can be dangerous for teens. Others are demeaning, racist, sexist, and violent or contain false information. Some of these sites contain stuff that can make people feel badly or even hurt people. If you end up in any of these areas, immediately leave by clicking on the Home icon, going to another site, or shutting down your browser....to read more please click here.

	NetSmartz is an Internet safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America that uses the latest technology to create high-impact educational activities for even the most tech-savvy kids of any age group.
	Helping citizens take an active role in their safety through Advocacy, Education and Awareness.