Just over a week ago the parents of a six-year-old placed a frantic 9-1-1 call reporting their daughter missing.  Family members had canvassed the neighborhood for half-an-hour but when their efforts produced no result panic quickly set in.

They looked everywhere they could think of.  In vehicles, the house, and places outside the house where the missing child might be. But she was no where to be found.

Only a parent who has faced a crisis of this nature can understand the fear they were experiencing.   

It was then they called the Sheriff’s Office.

Upon receipt of their call dispatchers in the 9-1-1 center directed several deputies to the area to assist with efforts to find the child. At the same time, additional personnel were en-route to provide sufficient manpower in the event the search was expanded to cover a larger area.

The Sheriff’s department’s first responders went back over the same area where the family looked.  The house, surrounding area and vehicles parked in the driveway were checked again to make sure the six-year-old had not been overlooked.   

As two hours passed since she was last seen,  plans were being formulated to expand over a wide area using approximately three dozen volunteers who had responded from the Sheriff’s office, the community, and that community’s volunteer fire department all wanting to help.

Then over the radio was heard “ she’s been found,” bringing a sigh of relief to everyone.   

It was relief for the parents and other family members that she was safe. The officer who found her had decided to look closely at the rear seat of a king-cab pickup truck that was parked at the girl’s residence.  There he found her asleep, out of view behind the rear seat.

When we have a missing child or adult there are two resources available for law enforcement’s use.   

A Child Is Missing is a nationwide service that provides law enforcement with the latest satellite and GPS technology to alert a particular area.

After notification by a local law enforcement office that is investigating a missing person basic information about the person is used to put together an alert message.  It contains the missing person’s name and description and contact information for the agency originating the report.  The alert is then sent to homes and businesses in that area from ACIM’s phone database.

With the technology ACIM has put together they are able to dial several hundred phones within a short period of time. That can be crucial for getting the missing person back because every second is important.   

In the recent missing child case we were preparing to contact A Child is Missing when word was received she had been found.     

In situations where you have abduction or where it is believed the missing person is not within a given area, the other resource we have is Amber Alert .  In our state the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation administers this program.  They have specific criteria they go by that is used to determine whether an Amber Alert is issued.  And keep in mind that Amber Alerts covers a broader area than A Child is Missing through the resources of the broadcast media.   

Amber Alerts can be expanded to several states through radio and television stations.  Alerts are sent over the government’s Emergency Alert System to stations that have receiving equipment.  Messages can be posted on interstate highway message boards that are now used widely in metropolitan areas to provide motorists with traffic information.   

The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has a plan that combines local resources with outside services to ensure we are successful locating missing children and adults.