NEWS RELEASE
For further information please contact: Capt. J. Tim Hull
(573) 526-6115
Q12089
December 29, 2009
EMPHASIS: AMBER Alert Awareness Day & Poster Contest Kick Off

Colonel James F. Keathley, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, would like to inform the public of AMBER Alert Awareness Day, which is scheduled for January 13. 2009.

The mission of the AMBER Alert Program is to develop and coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, the media, and transportation in order to increase public participation in safely recovering abducted children through targeted education, increased communication, and effective sharing of resources. The January 13 awareness day is a way to remind people AMBER Alerts are important and have proven invaluable since their inception. The first Amber Alert system was established in Dallas-Fort Worth in 1996. This was created after the death of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and was found brutally murdered. The Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. Nationwide, the Amber Alert Program has assisted in the recovery of 432 missing children. Missouri has had the Amber Alert Program since 2002. The statewide Amber Alert Plan has recovered 44 children since its beginning.

The AMBER Alert Awareness Day is also the kick off for the annual National Missing and Exploited Children’s Day poster contest. Fifth grade students throughout Missouri are participating in this contest. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), previously provided Missouri schools with program information and rules. Students are creating posters measuring 11 inches x 14 inches, which reflect the “Bring Our Missing Children Home” theme. They may use acrylics, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, magic markers, spray paint, pastels, etc.

Each school will choose a first place winner and submit that winner to: Missouri State Highway Patrol, attn: Missing Persons Unit--DDCC, P.O. Box 568, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0568. A completed application must accompany the submission. The Patrol is the designated clearinghouse for Missouri’s missing persons and children reports.

Winning posters must be received in Jefferson City by March 9, 2009.

The poster winning first place at the state level will then compete at the national level. This year’s national winner will receive a certificate of recognition and travel with his/her parents to Washington, D.C., to participate in a National Missing Children’s Day ceremony at the U.S. Department of Justice held on or around May 25, 2009. The winning poster will be part of various displays, exhibits, publications, and websites as determined by the Child Protection Division and Department of Justice.

“The Patrol is pleased to be part of the National Missing and Exploited Children’s Day poster contest,” said Colonel Keathley. “This contest is a creative way to help children communicate about a serious situation that occurs somewhere in our nation every day.”

For more information regarding the National Missing and Exploited Children’s Day poster contest, check out the following web sites: www.mshp.dps.mo.gov or www.dps.mo.gov; or http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org.
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