As Canada marked National Missing Children's Day Friday, the Missing Children Society of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection launched new services to help bring home kids that disappear.
The Missing Children Society of Canada launched a new tool, called The World's Most Valuable Social Network, Friday. The program aims to use Canadians' social networks to get information about missing children out to more people.
Amanda Pick of the Missing Children Society of Canada said she believes the tool is one day "going to stop children from being abducted in our country."
Anyone using social media websites like Facebook or Twitter can "donate" their newsfeed so that when a child vanishes, it will be posted on their newsfeed, hopefully reaching many people in that person's social network.
The tool is also geo-targeted, which means if a child goes missing in downtown Winnipeg, people nearby are notified first.
The program will allow for public alerts for missing children's cases that may not qualify for an Amber Alert.
The Winnipeg Police Service supports the initiative. Sgt Monica Stothers said anything that speeds up the process of finding a missing child is extremely valuable to police.
"It's so important for a child to be located in the first 24 hours, so time is critical," said Stothers.
To sign up for The World's Most Valuable Social Network, you can visit their website. http://valuablenetwork.ca/
Another tool introduced Friday for finding missing children is called the Missing Kids Alert and was launched by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
With this alert system people, can sign up to receive alerts when a child in their community goes missing. It will also cover cases that might not qualify for an Amber Alert. You can sign up for these alerts at the Missing Kids Alert homepage. http://missingkids.ca/app/en/
One in six children is located as a result of someone recognizing their picture.
