I am posting this here as well as the Flyers thread.
I constantly see comments like, I wish I could help I hope he is found I cant search Any searches this weekend? What can I do? Information is scattered here, there and everywhere in regard to search efforts, fundraisers, the reward fund, etc. I believe there are people who genuinely want to help, but dont know how.
One example: I went to the Crime Stoppers website and I dont even see Lucas on there.
http://www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com/ There are a couple of posts about Lucas on the FB Crime Stoppers page, but the posts have now moved way down the page due to all the newer posts. If someone were interested in submitting a tip and wanted to know how much the reward is, where would they find it?
So, my thought is this: What if we develop a comprehensive list (maybe in the form of an attention-grabbing graphic) to be posted on the Facebook page as a
pinned post, that details every way we can think of that people can help find Lucas? Random example here:
http://camasridge.4j.lane.edu/10-reasons-to-get-involved-flyer/ And I love this one (with a photo of Lucas in the center):
https://elearninginfographics.com/10-ways-to-make-everyday-earth-day/
Anyway, the graphic would include information like the following (and whatever else we can think of) all in one place, and wouldnt disappear down the page. It would also be the first post seen on the page. (Please excuse this VERY rough draft, not complete or in any particular order):
HELP FIND LUCAS 10 Ways you can help! or
10 ways
YOU can help find Lucas! or
10 WAYS YOU CAN HELP BRING LUCAS HOME or
?
1. Volunteer to search
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1604302856350065/
2. <modsnip>
3. Search your property. [Tips for searching or link inserted here?] If you need help searching your property, contact:
SearchingForLucas@gmail.com
4. Submit tips to Crime Stoppers
a. By phone: (316) 267-2111
b. Online:
http://www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com/
Thoughts anyone?
Very comprehensive- all missing/endangered child sites & pages need to have the SAME info... Recent compilation with bruises lacked SO MUCH I thought oh no, not again.
Those wanting to do something from afar can rally to get these media channels the full details. Give LH context and personalize him (not questions and emojis, avoid the emotional to focus on details).
Re: 'Someone Knows Something' Mentality.
Many people know many little things- if WPD is NOT performing interviews with those LH was around daily or routines, they are failing him royally. Abuse is invisible because everyone has an idea of what it looks and sounds like- like an iceberg, they will miss it almost every time. WPD needs to diligently comb through those who last saw Lucas in 2018. I hope they are, and happy for them to take the time they need to 'hear' him now.
As a witness of a kidnapping & murder, as someone who called 911 DURING the event only for local pd to pretend it away & throw away my reports, a reward is NOT ENOUGH to come forward.
The signs are not enough to come forward.
Their face is not enough to come forward.
We have a HUGE burden and struggle to reconcile how to pass on the information we have, to where it looks like it belongs without incurring danger to our loved ones.
I tried my best and found out things that showed me clearly there is a limit to how far a witness can go before being 'thrown away' as well. Ordinary citizens cannot understand the totality of what those 'who know' experience and how little they have to stand on.
Sometimes we don't have the name, or address, or a vehicle plate, (god forbid) physical evidence, and are told to piss off because THOSE pieces make the case easy.
A neighbor or bystander at a store is not going to have the sense of urgency that something they witnesses occuring is actually a tip. And lots of attention hungry types dump fake or useless tips on detectives.
It is also expensive to secure an attorney, draw up statements, request information from the time of event, god forbid medical (yes there's a litany of debilitating side effects). Financial incentive is scarcely enough to begin to cover the costs of what these events wreak upon us. Everyone is not financially capable of taking on the massive troubles inherently tied to 'Knowing Something'.
Reward money is highly distressing when the victim & their fate is on one's mind. Complicated. Insulting. Can feel like a taunt, why isn't it immediately available for the search & loved ones?
'Reward' as bait is geared to encourage those with the least stress of mind to inquire... those who have a lot on their mind are not seeing a reward as a reason to take a day off to put themselves in the path of 'proving' what they know to be true beyond any shadow of a doubt, for many years to come. Again, one considers all who depend on them & seek anonymity, evidence that what they 'never asked for' will not come back to ite them in the *advertiser censored*, and burden those who depend on them.
To get the type of information that the WPD seems to intimate they desire, there needs to be a sense of privacy, safety, protection, partnership, understanding that the info is actually what LE are seeking and that it will not destroy one's life in the process- again those who are not in this position can't understand how the brain changes things. Just try to understand the difference.
I've seen things that would screw up most people for life, and taken it in stride- this is just life as it happens.
That one single event has done worse to me than all of it put together.
If there is Someone(s) out there who have crucial information on LH, we have to consider how to get them to realize the significance of it (not justice, sad lost kid, guilt- they know this already- but how & why a witness statement to LE in a secure format is vital).
