FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   Thursday, May 25, 2017

CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605) 773-3215

PIERRE, S.D. - Attorney General Marty Jackley is asking South Dakotans to observe National Missing Children’s Day today.

“South Dakota is leading the Nation in programs that protect our children. Law enforcement statewide continues to participate in programs that are making a difference in the prevention of child abduction,” said Jackley.

Some of the statewide efforts that are in place include:

• South Dakota Amber Alert Plan- Statewide notification to South Dakota law enforcement and South Dakota media to disseminate specific details to the public to assist in locating an abducted child.

• South Dakota Child Abduction Team (CART) - CART is a multi-jurisdictional team of South Dakota law enforcement professionals with specialized training that can be called to assist during abducted/missing children investigations. South Dakota’s CART was one of the first nationally certified teams.

• Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) - A partnership between law enforcement and local broadcasters who notify the public about missing and endangered persons. It is designed for those instances when a missing person does not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert.

• South Dakota Child Identification Program (SDCHIP) –An initiative of the Masons of North American that generates completed packages of various child- identifying items for parents or guardians. These packages aid law enforcement in the recovery of a missing child. The program is offered to the public at no charge.

• Campaign for Child Rescue- Attorney General Jackley and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring have joined together to launch this national project which helps develop and deploy technologies donated by several industry partners. The technologies being adopted will allow investigators to reduce their exposure to video and photos of children being sexually assaulted by 70 percent or more, enabling them to focus instead on children still awaiting rescue.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has dedicated this annual event for missing children since 1983. The organization wants parents to know there are things they can do to keep their children safe, including teaching online safety. More children are online and on mobile devices than any other generation before. It is even more important now to ensure the safety of children from online threats. The tips can be found at:

http://www.missingkids.com/home

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