Angel Who Cares
If you seek an angel with an open heart, you shall
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2008
- Messages
- 22,925
- Reaction score
- 92
Missing-child cases shock, but are not the trend
Both at local and state level, authorities give them higher priority.
Story updated at 1:05 AM on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010
<snipped>
Although cases of missing, abducted and even murdered children have rocked Northeast Florida for the past year, law enforcement agencies and advocates for children say the state is at the forefront in confronting the issue.
Florida has a history of creating tools and programs law enforcement agents can use in missing-person cases, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Child Abduction Response Team system that lets law enforcement tackle cases at a moment's notice was created in Florida in the wake of the 2004 abduction and murder of Carlie Brucia, 11, in Sarasota. The 1981 abduction and murder of Adam Walsh was instrumental in the late U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins' introduction of what became the 1982 federal law that allowed the entry of missing-person data into the FBI database. Other laws across the country now have their origins in the 2005 Florida murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.
"Florida, in many ways borne out of tragedy, has been the leader," Allen said. Locally, law enforcement continues to make changes.
In Jacksonville last month, Sheriff John Rutherford overhauled how missing-person cases are handled to give them a higher priority. He said three cases - the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings in Putnam County, the disappearance and slaying of Somer Thompson in Clay County and the shooting death of Makia Coney in Jacksonville - made him decide to speed up response times. Officers cannot delay responding to the call or swap it without a supervisor's approval, Undersheriff Frank Mackesy said. He said the changes in how the calls are dispatched have had a negligible impact on responses to other calls.
*Much More At Link!
HIGH-PROFILE CASES
*Haleigh Cummings
The Putnam County 5-year-old was reported missing early Feb. 10, 2009, from a mobile home in Satsuma. She remains missing despite a search that gained national attention.
*Jamie Lynn Iovino
This 11-year-old Jacksonville Beach girl never made it to school Sept. 22, sparking a search that ended after 10 p.m. that day at a department store near Orange Park. Police said she appeared to have run away.
*Somer Thompson
The 7-year-old's body was found in a Georgia landfill on Oct. 21, two days after she disappeared on the way home from school in Orange Park. No arrests have been made, but a man charged with child
is of interest to investigators.
*Markisha Jackson
The Jacksonville 9-year-old disappeared after she would not explain how she acquired a portable video game she brought home from school Jan. 15. She turned up in a neighborhood backyard the next morning after an intense police search.
*Makia Coney
The body of the University Christian High 17-year-old was found a few hours after she left the Jacksonville school Feb. 10. Two other students have been charged with murder.
*Melvin Duclos
On March 3, the parents of the 3-week-old Jacksonville baby were convinced to give their child to a woman who said she was from the state Department of Children and Families. The baby was found 13 hours later and a woman arrested.
Article:
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-12/story/missing_child_cases_shock_but_are_not_the_trend
Both at local and state level, authorities give them higher priority.
Story updated at 1:05 AM on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010
<snipped>
Although cases of missing, abducted and even murdered children have rocked Northeast Florida for the past year, law enforcement agencies and advocates for children say the state is at the forefront in confronting the issue.
Florida has a history of creating tools and programs law enforcement agents can use in missing-person cases, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Child Abduction Response Team system that lets law enforcement tackle cases at a moment's notice was created in Florida in the wake of the 2004 abduction and murder of Carlie Brucia, 11, in Sarasota. The 1981 abduction and murder of Adam Walsh was instrumental in the late U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins' introduction of what became the 1982 federal law that allowed the entry of missing-person data into the FBI database. Other laws across the country now have their origins in the 2005 Florida murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.
"Florida, in many ways borne out of tragedy, has been the leader," Allen said. Locally, law enforcement continues to make changes.
In Jacksonville last month, Sheriff John Rutherford overhauled how missing-person cases are handled to give them a higher priority. He said three cases - the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings in Putnam County, the disappearance and slaying of Somer Thompson in Clay County and the shooting death of Makia Coney in Jacksonville - made him decide to speed up response times. Officers cannot delay responding to the call or swap it without a supervisor's approval, Undersheriff Frank Mackesy said. He said the changes in how the calls are dispatched have had a negligible impact on responses to other calls.
*Much More At Link!
HIGH-PROFILE CASES
*Haleigh Cummings
The Putnam County 5-year-old was reported missing early Feb. 10, 2009, from a mobile home in Satsuma. She remains missing despite a search that gained national attention.
*Jamie Lynn Iovino
This 11-year-old Jacksonville Beach girl never made it to school Sept. 22, sparking a search that ended after 10 p.m. that day at a department store near Orange Park. Police said she appeared to have run away.
*Somer Thompson
The 7-year-old's body was found in a Georgia landfill on Oct. 21, two days after she disappeared on the way home from school in Orange Park. No arrests have been made, but a man charged with child
is of interest to investigators.*Markisha Jackson
The Jacksonville 9-year-old disappeared after she would not explain how she acquired a portable video game she brought home from school Jan. 15. She turned up in a neighborhood backyard the next morning after an intense police search.
*Makia Coney
The body of the University Christian High 17-year-old was found a few hours after she left the Jacksonville school Feb. 10. Two other students have been charged with murder.
*Melvin Duclos
On March 3, the parents of the 3-week-old Jacksonville baby were convinced to give their child to a woman who said she was from the state Department of Children and Families. The baby was found 13 hours later and a woman arrested.
Article:
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-12/story/missing_child_cases_shock_but_are_not_the_trend
