To honor public safety telecommunicators during NPSTW 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) shared these successes.
Rutland, MA, Regional Emergency Communications Center’s Outstanding Effort Helps Locate Missing Autistic Boy
The Rutland, MA Regional Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is a member agency of the NCMEC Missing Kids Readiness Program (MKRP). On February 20, 2023 they managed a call of a missing five-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who had wandered from his home. The telecommunicators worked seamlessly as a team to communicate and coordinate with the parent, the media and public safety field responders. This outstanding team effort contributed to the child being located unharmed.
St. Johns County, FL, Sheriff’s Office Communications’ Diligence and Perseverance Lead to Location of Runaway Youth
The St. Johns County, FL Sheriff’s Office Communications is a member of the NCMEC Missing Kids Readiness Program (MKRP). In August 2022 a father called to report that his 17-year-old son had run away and was endangered. Public safety telecommunicators (PSTs) promptly entered the youth in NCIC, sent interstate alerts, and gathered location data from the cell carrier. For over four hours the team tracked the youth’s progress north into Georgia and South Carolina, alerting law enforcement agencies along the route. The youth was eventually located by the South Carolina State Patrol. The local sheriff’s office took the teen to a hospital for evaluation. The diligence and perseverance of the team was directly responsible for ensuring the missing youth’s safety.
Every child deserves a safe childhood. To learn more about NCMEC’s Missing Kids Readiness Program, please go to https://www.missingkids.org/mkrp
