MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
A Division Of The
Department of Public Safety
Public Information and Education Division - PO Box 568 - Jefferson City, MO 65102

NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Cpl. Erik Eidson
(573) 526-6178
Q5211
May 2, 2011
EMPHASIS: National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest Winners

Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, is pleased to announce that three young artists from Missouri’s fifth grade classrooms were selected as the top state winners in the 2011 National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missing Persons Clearinghouse, is a proud sponsor of this annual contest, hosted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Washington, D.C. The contest was created in an effort to educate children across the country about child safety and to make the public aware of law enforcement’s continuous efforts to search for and recover missing children.

The theme of this year’s contest was “Bring Our Missing Children Home.” Students from Missouri elementary schools, parochial schools, and home schools were invited to participate by drawing an 8 1/2” x 14” poster centered on the theme. They were also required to include a paragraph about how their poster describes the dilemma of missing children. The posters were sent to the Highway Patrol’s Missing Person’s Clearinghouse where a winner was chosen and submitted to the national contest in Washington, D.C.

This year’s Missouri winner was Anna Juhlin, a fifth grade student at Nell-Holcomb R-IV in Cape Girardeau, MO. Juhlin drew a picture of a mother and daughter viewing a lost child message on an Amber Alert highway sign. In Juhlin’s paragraph, she wrote, “My poster has a mom and a girl in a car. The girl sees a sign to help find lost children. I created my picture to tell people about missing children and to tell people that there are REAL kids that are MISSING.” For her efforts, Juhlin won a state award certificate and a T-shirt with a screen print of her winning poster. By winning first place at the state level, Juhlin’s poster was automatically entered in the contest at the national level. Juhlin will also receive a congratulatory resolution from State Representative Wayne Wallingford.

The second place winner was Jarrod Stagner, from St. Richard School in St. Louis, MO. Stagner wrote, “I created this poster for all the missing children. I want more people to help find missing children to make their families happier. I drew my family because I am happy at home and I want other kids to be happy, too.” Stagner received a state award certificate and a T-shirt.

Third place in the Patrol’s poster contest was awarded to Bianca Ituarte, of St. Roch School in St. Louis, MO. Ituarte’s poster portrayed a puzzle with one piece missing. Her entry paragraph read, “I created this poster to show that one missing child can mess up the whole puzzle. If you find the missing person, the puzzle will be back on balance.” She received a state award certificate and a T-shirt.

Honorable Mention went to Claudia D., a fifth grade student at St. Anthony School in Sullivan, MO.

To view this year’s winning posters, go to the Patrol’s website at www.mshp.dps.mo.gov and click on the link to the Missing Persons State Clearinghouse. The Patrol will post the rules for the 2012 National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest on the website later this fall. For more information, contact Heather Elder with the Missing Person’s Clearinghouse at (573) 526-6178.

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