2006 Missing Children's Clearinghouse Annual Report

Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse 2006 Annual Report

On The Cover The young people on the cover of this report are just a handful of the hundreds of children and adolescents from Ohio who are listed with the Missing Children Clearinghouse.

19

The yellow and white ribbon represents our unwavering support for efforts to find these missing children and to remember those who never made it home.

18

14

15

For additional information on these and other missing children, visit Attorney General Marc Dann’s web site at www.ag.state.oh.us and follow the links to the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse.

17

16

13 12

11

10

If you have any information about these children or any other missing children, contact the Clearinghouse at (800) 325-5604.

8

7

6

9

1

2

3

4

5

1. ALEXIS HINES Last seen on 11/07/06 in Cincinnati, Ohio

11. MOHAMED JAFAAR Last seen on 01/30/06 in Toledo, Ohio

2. BIANCA DAMANIK Last seen on 01/12/05 in Beachwood, Ohio

12. CIERRA KING Last seen on 04/16/06 in Shaker Heights, Ohio

3. MEAGAN MCCLEESE Last seen on 04/30/04 in Feesburg,Ohio

13. DAVID HODGES Last seen on 2/19/07 in Cincinnati, Ohio

4. SHANIECE DORSEY Last seen on 10/08/06 in Toledo, Ohio

14. MARIA LOPEZ Last seen on 12/18/05 in Akron, Ohio

5. JULIE ADKINS Last seen on 07/04/06 in Cincinnati, Ohio

15. JUANITA MAY-VOU ALFARANO Last seen on 03/18/07 in Miamisburg, Ohio

6. ANGELA MICHELLE MOORE Last seen in Madison Township, Ohio

16. TYSHEA STEWART Last seen on 11/13/06 in University Heights, Ohio

7. SASHA TOWNSEND Last seen on 11/27/06 in North College Hills,Ohio

17.

8. MARTI BELL Last seen on 10/07/94 in Cincinnati, Ohio

18. JASMINE PIMENTEL Last seen on 02/17/07 in Youngstown, Ohio

9. KAYLA MARTIN Last seen on 9/6/06 in Upper Sandusky, Ohio

19. JAMEL WILLIAMS Last seen on 05/25/94 in Toledo, Ohio

10. MARTEEN CASEY Last seen on 11/25/06 in Newark, Ohio

MARK BARNHART Last seen on 10/05/05 in Athens,Ohio

Dear Fellow Ohioan: I am pleased to present to you the 2006 Annual Report for the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse. This report details the state’s efforts to locate and return missing children to their families and loved ones. Our children are our most precious resource and it is imperative that we keep them safe. To that end, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that in addition to this report, the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse offers publications and information regarding child safety. If you have questions or would like more information on keeping our children safe, please contact the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse at 1-800-325-5604. I welcome any additional ideas you might have about protecting our children and I encourage you to visit my office website at www.ag4ohio.gov for essential information regarding missing children resources. Sincerely, Marc Dann

Attorney General

The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse

In October 1993, the Ohio General Assembly passed into law Amended Senate Bill 63, which created the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). The Clearinghouse acts as a central repository to coordinate and improve the availability of information on missing children pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 109.65(B). The Clearinghouse assists in the search for missing children, creates public awareness of pertinent issues, and develops and disseminates educational information about missing and abducted children.

The Clearinghouse has a toll free hotline, (800) 325-5604, which provides nationwide access, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, including holidays. Clearinghouse staff members answer the hotline Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) staff members staff the hotline after hours, and on weekends and holidays. 2006 Statistics

In 2006, the hotline received 1,187 from law enforcement, schools, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), other clearinghouses, parents, relatives of missing children, and others. The hotline was primarily established for supplemental reports of missing children and reports of sightings of missing children, but calls range from requests for informational materials such as child fingerprint ID cards, to information about actual missing children and details regarding their recoveries. Many of the incoming calls received at the Clearinghouse this year were from law enforcement, parents and community members. Calls were also received from local media sources, which requested photographs and statistics on Ohio’s missing children, as well as other related information. Clearinghouse staff members coordinated media requests with the Attorney General’s Communications Section.

Interested persons can contact the Clearinghouse if they would like to request a speaker from the Attorney General’s Office. All such services are free. The office also suggests contacting the county children services agency, the local victim advocate, the NCMEC, or the National Runaway Switchboard for information on missing children resources they may provide. Community members are also encouraged to print fliers of missing children from web pages and to distribute them in their local areas. If a child is missing, the parent should immediately call a local law enforcement agency. If contacted, the Clearinghouse will take a supplemental report. The Clearinghouse also verifies that the child has been entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center computer by the law enforcement agency and recommends that they also contact the NCMEC to file a report. In 2006, the Clearinghouse documented 25,347 reports of missing children in the following categories (see page 12 for category descriptions):

Documented Reports of Missing Children in Ohio—2006

AMBER Alert Family Abduction Lost, Injured, or Otherwise Missing Non Family Abduction

1

34 101 42 7

Runaway

25,163

Total

25,347

Out of 25,347 cases recorded, 24,268 children were reported recovered. This figure represents all recovered/located cases reported to the Clearinghouse staff by law enforcement, other agencies, or parents.

The Attorney General’s Office promotes National Missing Children’s Day, which is held annually on May 25. Callers are made aware of this day and are encouraged to hold events promoting child safety, fingerprinting children, or taking their photographs. Contacts at local law enforcement agencies are provided when appropriate. In 2006, the Clearinghouse distributed 5,000 ribbons to the TWO DAYS IN MAY victim advocacy conference attendees and those who visited the office’s National Missing Children’s Day exhibit. Legislative and Legal Developments

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)

The 125th Ohio General Assembly passed the UCCJEA in December 2004, the Governor signed it on January 11 2005, and the law went into effect on April 10, 2006. The bill largely enacts the National Conference on Commissioners’ UCCJEA to address jurisdictional and enforcement problems in child custody proceedings and determinations. The bill replaces Ohio’s UCCJA and makes a number of important changes to Ohio’s law including the following: • “Home State” jurisdiction is given priority over significant connection/substantial evidence/jurisdiction when two or more states have jurisdiction to hear a child custody dispute. • Makes Ohio law consistent with the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), 18 USC 1738 A. • Clarifies contact between jurisdictions; a record must be kept of the judges’ discussions, and a record must be made available to the parties or their attorneys. At the discretion of the judge, a party or their attorney may participate in the discussions. • Grants an Ohio court “temporary emergency jurisdiction” if a child is in Ohio and it is necessary to protect the child if the child, a sibling or a parent of the child is subjected to or threatened with abuse. • If there is no previous child custody determination and no child custody proceeding has commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction, the emergency order remains in effect until the state of home jurisdiction issues an order. If this does not occur then the emergency order becomes final if the order so provides and Ohio becomes the home state. • If there is a previous custody order, the emergency order must specify an adequate time period to allow the person seeking the order to obtain an order from the non-emergency state. • States issuing an emergency order or being informed that an emergency order is being commenced in another state must immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the emergency order. • Gives the court authority to seal the victims address or other identifying information in the court file. • Requires both courts in an interstate custody case to consider domestic violence as a factor in determining whether one of the courts is an inconvenient forum despite meeting jurisdictional requirements. • Requires a petition for enforcement to be verified including whether any court proceedings have started which could affect the current proceedings including proceedings related to domestic violence or protection orders. • Permits a prosecutor to take any lawful action to locate, obtain or return a child or enforce a parenting determination in a case arising under the UCCJEA and authorizes a law enforcement office to take any lawful action reasonably necessary to locate a child or assist the prosecutor at their request. 2

Providing Resources to the Public

The public can play a vital part in the recovery of missing children by subscribing to the Ohio Citizens Alert Network on Ohio’s AMBER Plan web site, www.ohioamberplan.org. Subscribers are notified of missing children situations through the application’s SMS text messaging and e-mail messages that are sent when an AMBER Alert occurs. A downloadable screensaver featuring missing children and a desktop pop-up AMBER Alert message are additional tools available for the public for AMBER Alert awareness. • Ohio Citizens Alert Network (CAN) - The public will be able to go to the Ohio AMBER Alert web site at www.ohioamberplan.org to sign up to receive AMBER Alert e-mails and SMS text messaging to their cellular phones.

• Screensaver of Missing Children - A screensaver will be made available to the public that includes rotating photographs of missing children. • Desktop Pop-up Message - A downloadable desktop agent will provide a pop-up message anytime an AMBER Alert is issued or updated. Child Fingerprinting Kits

The Clearinghouse provided various law enforcement agencies and schools with child fingerprint ID cards. The ID cards, which are used at local events (such as fairs) throughout the state, were developed and produced by the Attorney General’s Office and are available at no cost. Web Site

The Clearinghouse web page allows individuals with Internet access to view Ohio missing children photos and related issues. The link to the page has A Long Term Missing Child Success Story: been included on the Attorney General’s web site since May 1997. There have been 1,373 Zaimah, Khadijah, and Derrick Martre children featured on the web site since its In Toledo, Ohio on November 14, 1999, Zaimah, Khadijah, and creation. The web site, which can be found Derrick Martre’s non-custodial mother, Lalita Martre arrived at the on the Internet at www.ag.state.oh.us, conchildren’s foster home, impersonating a Lucas County Children Services employee who had come to give the children an evalutains the following information: • Steps to take if your child is missing.

• Photographs/posters of children missing from Ohio. This effort is coordinated with the NCMEC. • Information about Ohio’s observance of National Missing Children’s Day • The Bulletin - Report on Missing Children, which contains training information, responsibilities of law enforcement agencies and schools as required by the Ohio Revised Code pertaining to missing children, and lists Ohio’s missing children, as well as statistical information. 3

ation, and took the children from their home.

The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse staff member, Lorraine Brooks worked closely with Toledo detective Jim Anderson on the development of Missing Children posters for the children. After several years, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children produced composite pictures for each of the children aged 9 years from their date of abduction. After 9 years, an anonymous caller phoned the National Center with a hot tip. The caller stated that the children were believed to be in Toledo staying at a relative’s home. The Toledo Police were immediately contacted, and found the children at their aunt’s home. The children appeared to have been well cared for and in good health, and are now in the custody of Children Services.

• The Clearinghouse’s toll-free number, which provides 24-hour nationwide access. • Useful publications, safety tips, fingerprint identification cards and game sheets. • Links to Ohio’s AMBER Alert Plan, training information, other state clearinghouses and the NCMEC. • Annual reports. Code Adam

The Code Adam program, one of the nation’s largest child-safety programs, was created by the Wal-Mart® retail stores to assist businesses and public facilities in preventing a child from being abducted and removed from the premises. The Code Adam program was named in memory of 6-year-old Adam Walsh whose 1981 abduction and murder brought the horror of child abduction to national attention.

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann’s Office, through its Missing Children Clearinghouse and in conjunction with The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, continues to encourage all Ohio state and county agencies, schools, libraries, law enforcement agencies, retailers and others A Child Recovery Success Story: to promote the Code Adam program in Michael, Daphne, and Victoria Hook their areas. Missing Children Posters

The Clearinghouse posts photographs of missing children on its web site, which links to the NCMEC and other clearinghouses. This allows Internet users to easily access information on Ohio’s missing children. Photographs were also featured in Line of Duty, a quarterly newsletter published by the Attorney General’s Office, which was distributed to more than 5,000 members of Ohio’s law enforcement community in 2006.

On July 26, 2006 Michael, Daphne, and Victoria Hook were reported missing by their father Mike Hook. He had recently obtained custody of his three children from his ex-wife, Tonya Vitteritto, due to claims of child abuse. However, she still retained visitation rights with the children. Mr. Hook had gone to his ex-wife’s home to pick the children up after a visit, only to discover that she and the children had disappeared. From her neighbors, Mr. Hook was able to solidify a general destination. He was told that his ex-wife and their children had moved to Pennsylvania. Unsure of what to do besides file a police report, Mike Hook contacted the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse. With the help of Detective Kohli at the Lima Police Department, we were able to produce posters and issue both media and trucker alerts for all three children. Along with Detective Kohli, we contacted the Pennsylvania Missing Children Clearinghouse and Pennsylvania State Police Departments for help recovering the children. On August 18, 2006 a Pennsylvania State Trooper apprehended the non-custodial mother and her husband. With the help of state Missing Children Clearinghouses, local law enforcement, and Pennsylvania law enforcement the Hook children were returned safely to their father.

4

Providing Resources to Law Enforcement

The Clearinghouse maintains two investigative manuals for law enforcement use: Missing and Abducted Children: A Law Enforcement Guide to Case Investigations and Program Management from the NCMEC and the FBI’s Child Abduction Response Plan. The NCMEC’s guide is designed to provide step by step definitive checklists for non family abductions, family abductions, children who become lost, and those who are runaways. The Clearinghouse has provided this guide to every law enforcement agency in Ohio. The second investigative tool, the FBI’s Child Abduction Response Plan, provides and emphasizes techniques that are essential in conducting abduction investigations. The FBI has distributed a copy of this investigative guide to every law enforcement agency in the country. Both manuals contain laws that relate to missing children and instruct law enforcement on techniques to use during short- and long term investigations. The Clearinghouse also maintains the Selected State Legislation Booklet, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This book includes criteria for drafting legislation pertaining to laws that protect children.

In addition, training on missing children issues and law enforcement responsibilities was provided to basic recruits, juvenile officers, and officers responsible for training others, at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. Each officer who attended the training received a copy of Missing and Abducted Children: A Law Enforcement Guide to Case Investigation and Program Management to aid in investigative efforts. This manual provides a checklist for handling each type of missing child case, as well as investigative resources, crisis media relations tools, and management issues. The FBI’s Child Abduction Response Plan manual is also circulated to officers. Each law enforcement agency in Ohio has received both of these investigative manuals. Copies of other materials, brochures and applicable Ohio Revised Code citations were additionally distributed at each presentation. Applicable legislative cites were also faxed or mailed to law enforcement agencies when requested.

Training on missing children issues is provided to police chiefs, sheriffs and unit commanders at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Jimmy Ryce Training Center located in Arlington, Virginia. The training included law enforcement’s role in missing child cases, a general overview of programs available to law enforcement, protecting children online, and issues relevant to school resource officers. Ohio law enforcement agencies are made aware of these training opportunities. Throughout Ohio, training and exhibits were provided. Presentations were given to nearly 300 law enforcement officers, community members, schools, children’s services providers and others. Topics included prevention, intervention, reunification efforts, AMBER Alert Plan and other first responder programs, and resources to assist in locating missing children. Also, for those counties creating their own AMBER Alert Plan, training was provided. Enhancements to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG)

OHLEG is a one-stop, secure web-based crime fighting and information tool that provides law enforcement agencies with a single location for information on missing children. Enhancements to OHLEG are being made to streamline the process for distributing information about missing children in Ohio, as well as increase the audience that receives notification.

5

With funding from the U.S. Department of Justice AMBER/eSORN, a missing children/AMBER Alert notification application was developed. On May 25 2005, National Missing Children’s Day, the Attorney General’s Office unveiled this new OHLEG application designed to streamline the dissemination of missing children information and widen the audience receiving AMBER Alerts and advisories. All missing child data inputted through the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) is automatically transmitted to OHLEG, where law enforcement officers can use it to quickly disseminate important details to the public.

OHLEG users can add to the information they report to LEADS and upload pictures of the missing child and any known suspects. As soon as the details are submitted, the law-enforcement officers can create missing-child posters and generate advisories instantly to e-mail or fax to Ohio media outlets and trucking companies. In instances where there is an endangered missing child that does not meet the AMBER Alert criteria, a media advisory and/or a trucker’s advisory may be issued through this application. Media can opt to receive the advisory via e-mail, fax or text message and choose whether to broadcast the information through their respective TV or radio stations. Trucking companies receive the advisory via fax to dispatch to their drivers. Another powerful function of the application is that law enforcement officers may the use the imbedded eSORN mapping integration to pinpoint registered sex offenders in the area where the child went missing. In 2004, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health formulated a policy to “flag” and “hold” the birth certificates of missing children and to notify law enforcement when a request is made for a missing child’s birth certificate. Through the use of OHLEG during 2006, the Clearinghouse also continued its successful child recovery initiative in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Office to flag missing children’s birth certificates and to notify law enforcement when a flagged birth certificate is requested. Report on Missing Children

The Bulletin - Report on Missing Children is available on the Attorney General’s web site at www.ag4ohio. gov. The bulletin contains various announcements, including Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) statistics, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children statistics, names of missing children, and Ohio Revised Code statutes that address police protocol and school responsibilities. Lost Child Alert Technology Resource (LOCATER )

The Clearinghouse staff continued to use the web-based LOCATER system heavily to aid in the quick creation and dissemination of 205 posters of missing children to other state clearinghouses, and law enforcement agencies within the state and throughout the nation. LOCATER posters reside on Ohio’s Missing Children Clearinghouse web site, www.ag4ohio.gov, as printable images.

6

Training

Throughout the year, ongoing training took place across the state. Approximately 500 people, including law enforcement personnel and newly elected sheriffs, were trained on missing children overview, safety tips, MCCH application and AMBER Alert protocol. In May 2005, the eOPOTA Missing Children Clearinghouse on-line training course was completed and made available to law enforcement officers to learn how to use the OHLEG/MCCH application. The course examines missing children statistics, reviews suggested approaches, identifies and explains the missing children resources available to the Ohio law enforcement community and presents interactive scenarios. US Marshals Service

Since 2005, the MCCH has enlisted the aid of the U.S. Marshals Service, Fugitive Tracking Unit, in tracking felony fugitives involved in long term child abduction cases. They will assist with the investigation only if a felony warrant exists on the suspect. The service recently agreed to assist in several of our older family abduction cases. A Child Is Missing, Inc. (ACIM)

Every 40 seconds a child in the United States is reported missing. One thousand telephone alert calls placed to nearby residences and businesses in less than one minute can help save a life.

Since 1997, A Child Is Missing (ACIM) has been providing their “first responder” program to law enforcement, along with a comprehensive training component. The program’s rapid response telephone system alerts residents in a targeted area about a missing child, elderly person (i.e., suffering from Alzheimer’s), or mentally challenged or disabled individual. This program currently serves the entire states of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. A Child Is Missing works in concert with AMBER Alert and all child safety programs. The program should not be confused with the AMBER A Fugitive Tracking Success Story: Alert, which is designed for stranger abductions geographically removed from the area Bijanjon Kavoossi of disappearance. Only law enforcement On September 20, 1996, Paula Kavoossi abducted her son, can utilize the ACIM program. No special Bijanjon, from his custodial father. We have been assisting equipment or personnel to activate ACIM is the father and the police agency with this case and have been unsuccessful locating them. Paula had felony warrants for her needed, and the program is available to law arrest reference the abduction. Within a couple of weeks after enforcement at no cost. State and federal taking the case, the US Marshal Service located the mother in funding, grants, fundraisers, sponsors and Greece. The case is pending court disposition. optional donations from law enforcement provide financial support.

7

AMBER Alert Program

Special Outreach Programs

AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alerts are initiated by local law enforcement agencies. Once a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger, broadcast media is notified to quickly enlist public involvement in the safe recovery of these children and apprehension of the abductors. More than 249 children have been recovered nationwide since AMBER Alert began in 1996. National Efforts

The 5th National Training Conference on AMBER Alert entitled “Bringing Our Children Home” was held in Appleton, Wisconsin. The conference was hosted by the U.S. Justice Department and brought together teams composed of law enforcement, broadcasters, and transportation officials. Some topics included “Internet Crimes Against Children” and an AMBER Alert profile update. Ohio Efforts

In the continuing effort to add to the tools already available to assist law enforcement agencies, and to bring immediate public attention to children who have been abducted, an alert system known as the AMBER Alert Plan has been developed in various locations in Ohio. The alert is patterned after the successful Dallas, Texas AMBER Alert Plan that was put into place in 1996 after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl, was abducted and murdered by a stranger. Clearinghouse staff continues to provide assistance to create local and regional AMBER Alert plans through training, materials and acting as a liaison with the NCMEC. A popular training tool is the AMBER plan kit, which include a manual and video provided by the NCMEC, to various local law enforcement agencies. AMBER Alert Plan

Increasing from just a handful of local/regional AMBER plans in Ohio only a few years ago, we are now aware of at least 24 plans in Ohio. MCCH plays a major role in attending AMBER Alert meetings and providing AMBER Alert training, whenever possible or requested, to increase law enforcement’s knowledge of the AMBER Alert process and to improve the ability to handle a child abduction case.

This year, 34 Amber Alerts were issued. Of these, 18 were issued through the MCCH/OHLEG application with all children recovered unharmed. Of the remaining four alerts that did not use the MCCH/OHLEG application, a two-year-old female victim, Aliyah Starling Myrick, was found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Clearinghouse is aware of 24 local and regional functioning plans and other plans are being formed. The Clearinghouse supports Ohio’s AMBER Alert Plan by making recommendations to the governor; developing and making the missing children’s posters available on the Attorney General’s web site for dissemination; and providing active membership on the Ohio AMBER Steering Committee.

8

The Ohio AMBER Steering Committee meetings took place on January 5, 2006, April 6, 2006, July 12, 2006 and October 5, 2006. Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse Director Brent Currence is a participating committee member. Responsible for implementing Ohio’s AMBER Alert Plan, the group launched a toll-free phone number, (877) AMBER-OH [(877) 262-3764]. Anyone in Ohio may call this phone number and obtain information on active AMBER Alerts, or report possible sightings of abducted children when an alert has been issued.

During the summer, the Ohio AMBER Steering Committee sponsored nine regional training sessions throughout the state; with assistance from local and regional AMBER plan members and local media representatives. More than 850 law enforcement personnel, media representatives, emergency management agency staff, children services administrators and victims’ advocates attended the workshops. Topics included AMBER criteria, efforts on the local, statewide and national level and law enforcement and media’s role in the alerts. Participants received investigative checklists, media checklists, AMBER brochures and other missing children related materials. National Missing Children’s Day

National Missing Children’s Day was commemorated on May 25, 2006, to raise awareness about Ohio’s missing children. At State of Ohio office building lobbies, Clearinghouse staff distributed ribbons and manned display tables featuring child safety tips and various brochures pertaining to the prevention and recovery of missing children. Truckers Helping to Recover Ohio’s Missing Children

On January 16, 2004, the Attorney General’s Office launched an initiative that provides the ability to go beyond the normal protocol when searching for missing children. It provides an advisory that can be issued simultaneously with an AMBER alert or when an AMBER alert may not be issued but the missing child meets the trucker’s advisory criteria. In 2006, 17 trucker’s advisories were issued. Through the cooperation of Ohio’s trucking industry, law enforcement has additional means of searching for children who have been abducted by a stranger or a family member, locate runaways who are believed to be endangered, or to locate a child who is lost or has gone missing. How it Works:

• A child goes missing and is reported to law enforcement. • Law enforcement determines that the Truckers Helping to Recover Ohio’s Missing Children advisory is warranted and contacts the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse to issue the advisory. • The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse will broadcast by fax and e-mail the child’s information to all of the participating trucking companies with the local or regional area that law enforcement designates. • The receiving trucking companies will post the information in their drivers’ lounges and dispatch offices, as well as include the information in dispatches. • When a child is found, a notice will go out to the trucking companies that the child has been recovered.

9

The Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police helped develop the criteria law enforcement follows to activate a Truckers Helping to Recover Ohio’s Missing Children advisory.

The Ohio Trucking Association was the first on board with this initiative, but many organizations and companies have since signed up, including: Mid-States Meat Association, Midwest Dairy Foods Association, Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association, Ohio Coal Association, Ohio Grocers Association, Ohio Lumbermen’s Association, Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Ohio Soft Drink Association, and the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio.

A Link to National Resources

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse is a link to the NCMEC.

In 2006, the NCMEC staff continued to refer Ohio callers to the Clearinghouse for assistance with the filing of supplemental missing children reports, leads, sightings and general inquiries. Clearinghouse staff members complete a supplemental missing child report when a child is reported missing (in addition to the report taken by law enforcement), and then coordinate with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to verify that law enforcement has entered the child into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center computer. If the child does not appear there, a Clearinghouse staff member contacts the law enforcement agency to obtain further information. The Clearinghouse’s law enforcement contact list contains more than 400 agencies. This list consists of officers throughout the state who have expertise in juvenile and missing child cases. The officers accept leads, sightings, and handle requests from other state clearinghouses throughout the country.

If a child from Ohio is believed to be in another state or if a child from another state is believed to be in Ohio, the Clearinghouse also networks with 49 other state clearinghouses throughout the nation and Canada to share leads and sighting information. Leads and sighting information are communicated to the appropriate law enforcement agency. I-SEARCH

Ohio participates in the Inter-State Enforcement Agencies to Recover Children (I-SEARCH) Advisory Council. The council, created by an interstate agreement signed by each participating state’s governor, is an interstate network designed to aid in the improved safety, identification and recovery of missing children. Two of the council’s goals are: better communication among state enforcement agencies, and networking to collect and share data concerning missing and exploited children. The 13 Midwestern member states include: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Two advisory council meetings were held in 2006.

10

In 2006, Ohio participated with other I-SEARCH member states to commemorate National Missing Children’s Day. Services provided by each member state, as well as state clearinghouse addresses, contact person(s), and links to clearinghouse web pages were posted on the Internet.

In addition to I-SEARCH, Ohio participates in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Midwest Coalition, which is also charged with developing and using an interstate approach to solving the problem of missing and exploited children. The coalition is comprised of the 13 I-SEARCH states. National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrown-away Children and Other Resources

The Clearinghouse maintains the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children in America - I and II. The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention conducted these studies. This report estimates the number of missing children within the United States and reviews the nature of the problem. These studies define family abduction, non family abduction, runaways, thrown-aways, and lost, injured, or otherwise missing children, custodial interference, missing due to false alarm situations, and sexually assaulted. The Clearinghouse receives monthly statistics on missing children in Ohio who have been reported to law enforcement agencies. It also prepares statistics on supplemental missing children reports, which are taken by Clearinghouse staff. These reports are divided into missing children categories (See table on page 1).

11

Category Descriptions Used for Statistical Purposes

AMBER ALERT: An AMBER Alert is issued when a child under 18 years of age is abducted and their case meets the AMBER Alert criteria listed below: • Abducted child must be under 18 years of age.

• Abduction poses credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death. • Law enforcement agency determines child is not a runaway and has not been abducted as a result of a child custody dispute, unless the dispute poses a credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death to the child. • Sufficient descriptive information about the child, the abductor and the circumstances surrounding the abduction to indicate that activation of the alert will help locate the child. FAMILY ABDUCTION: A family abduction occurs when, in violation of a custody order, a decree, or other legitimate custodial rights, a member of the child’s family, or someone acting on behalf of a family member, takes and fails to return the child, and the child is concealed and transported out of the state with the intent to prevent contact or deprive the custodial parent custody rights indefinitely.

MISSING, INVOLUNTARY, LOST OR INJURED: A missing, involuntary, lost or injured episode occurs when a child’s whereabouts are unknown to the child’s caretaker and this causes the caretaker to be alarmed for at least one hour and try to locate the child under one of two conditions; 1) the child was trying to get home or make contact with the caretaker but was unable to do so because the child was lost, stranded or injured; or 2) the child was too young to know how to return home or make contact with the caretaker. NON-FAMILY ABDUCTION: A non-family abduction occurs when a non-family perpetrator takes a child by the use of physical force, threat of bodily harm or detains child for at least 1 hour in an isolated place by the use of force or threat of bodily harm without lawful authority or parental permission.

Or, when a child is younger than 15 years old, or is mentally incompetent, without a lawful order or parental permission, is taken or detained by or voluntarily accompanies a non-family perpetrator who conceals the child’s whereabouts, demands ransom or intends to keep the child permanently. RUNAWAY: A runaway incident occurs when a child leaves home without permission and stays away overnight.

12

Marc Dann Attorney General Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse 150 East Gay Street, 25th F loor Columbus, Ohio 43215 1-800-325-5604