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check out this new website! http://kidslivesafe.com/

Police said Bill Stanton, who declined to say who hired him, won't have access to any case files related to their search for Lisa Irwin because he isn't law enforcement. He also doesn't appear to be licensed as a private investigator in Missouri as required when acting in that capacity.

"He will have access to anything the general public has access to," Kansas City police spokesman Capt. Steve Young said.

When asked by the Associated Press if he has handled a missing child case, Stanton said he couldn't detail cases involving children, then responded "Google me" when asked to discuss any of his past cases. He said he has worked as a consultant for "major media organizations," and the website for a consulting firm that lists him as a founding partner said he was a New York police officer before moving into private investigative work.

Lisa's parents, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, reported their daughter missing early Oct. 4, saying she disappeared from her crib at their single-story home sometime overnight as her mother slept in a nearby room.

Hundreds of local, state and federal investigators have been looking for the child ever since, scouring through hundreds of tips and repeatedly searching the family's neighborhood, nearby woods, sewers and a landfill. But police said they have no suspects or solid leads.

Stanton said a wealthy "benefactor" connected to a family member asked him to get involved and acknowledged the family didn't hire him. Stanton said he would fly in other people on Thursday, but wouldn't elaborate.

"I am hopeful this child is safe and alive," Stanton said. "I don't want to make this about me."He said he would be managing any media inquiries directed at the family, which family members confirmed. They said he had their support.

On Wednesday, detectives using all-terrain vehicles and tracking dogs searched a heavily wooded area a few blocks from the home, but it turned up nothing. Young said more than 40 detectives, along with the FBI and other police departments, are working the case.

What Stanton could offer the investigation is unclear.  Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said his organization doesn't work with private investigators and had not heard of Stanton.

"Families in these situations are desperate and feel the need to do anything they can possibly do," Allen said. "I hope he helps them."

Jimmie Mesis, editor-in-chief of New Jersey-based PI Magazine, a trade magazine for private investigators, said he has heard of Stanton. He said Stanton's involvement could be troublesome if he interferes with witnesses, but he also could keep a national spotlight on the case — even if that attention is focused on "Wild Bill," a moniker for which Stanton has become popular.

"With Bill, one benefit, because he has celebrity status as a private investigator, the media is going to be interested in seeing what he's doing," Mesis said. Later, he added, "He's putting his reputation on the line, too."

from: Kid Safe

I have found that even I, Kid Safe blogger, have become a little jaded to all the daily reports of missing children, then the next day they are found safe and sound by someone within the family usually taken by another family member and just a "lack of communication" or worse news that for some reason i choose not to add to this site. 

Today, this was a revelation for me.  If I am "just a blogger" and have this attitude, what must the police think when they get these calls?  The investigators that deal with this on a daily basis.  I know for me the whole Casey Anthony tragedy really upset me in a different way than the Amber Dubois case effected me.  You see I lived in Escondido when Amber Dubois went missing and I was working at Kid Safe and was HORRIFIED that they would not issue an "Amber Alert", they did not take the case seriously "for reasons unknown to the public".  I was deeply entrenched in the case, it was personal for me.  I lived and worked in the community and I take my position at CEN very seriously.  I felt that if "we" couldn't even get an Amber Alert issued in our own home town how could we proclaim to be the national source for Child Safety?  

I wrote more posts on the her case than any other case in the last 5 years.  I was asked to remove several of my posts, as they were derogatory towards the Escondido Police Department and it was creating a "negative" affect on the case.  So i acquiesced, against my personal feelings and judgement, "for the better good" of the company.  And NO the requests to take the posts down did not come from within CEN and CEN management left the decision up to me.   i just wanted her found.  I wanted her case taken seriously, I wanted her parents to have some peace, I was angry for them and obviously I took it all very personally.  

So when I read this report today, I remembered reading about it last week when I had chosen NOT to post it because I "assumed" the child would be found the next day and by the time the KidSafe readers got around to reading it, it would be old news or worse, I would have a stronger "story" to write about.

Then I got to the last paragraph of this report and really started to question myself, my commitment to keeping children safe, what constitutes a "story" with me, the "Content Manager" of KidSafe.com. 

Below is an excerpt from the AP "story" released today which I have scheduled to post before this one that I am writing now.  I decided to separate the posts because I don't want my personal story to effect the readers mind of the missing child report.  All Missing Child Reports MUST be taken seriously, Must be judged as TRUE "Kidnapping's" until found otherwise, by the police, the governments, the schools, the extended family, the friends AND the media, including "bloggers" like myself who proclaim to be concerned with the safety of Children.  

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A New York-based security consultant who said he was hired by a wealthy benefactor to help search for a missing baby in Kansas City got little response Wednesday from police who have been looking for the child for more than a week……….

…………."With Bill, one benefit, because he has celebrity status as a private investigator, the media is going to be interested in seeing what he's doing," Mesis said. Later, he added, "He's putting his reputation on the line, too."

A year after the Amber Dubois Kidnapping, she was found, sadly, not alive, and not a story I like to talk about very much. 

from: Kid Safe

Geddes (WSYR-TV) — A program intended to help find missing children may be in jeopardy. Many parents make a point of getting a child ID card, photos and fingerprints taken. They are then stored in a police database to help find missing children.

As with many things lately, money is the issue. The New York State Sheriff's Association puts more than 50,000 kids in the database across the state each year. By far, the biggest venue, where most parents sign up is the New York State Fair. After this year, we’re told federal funding is going to disappear.

Tracey Ike has brought her 7-year-old to the fair for three years running. Each time, Aidan updates his picture and fingerprints with Operation Safe Child.

"It is something that we always look for. I always want to have a record on me, just in case, God forbid, something should ever happen to him," explained Tracey.

That's music to the ears of the New York State Sheriff's Association, which serviced a record number of children here last year. They took over operations when budget cuts forced State Police to back out last year. Next year, a $50,000 grant they rely on, won't be renewed.

Mark Anderson with the NYS Sheriff's Association told NewsChannel 9, "We're convinced that somebody out there, some corporate sponsor, sees the value of this and is going to help us out. We don't know who that might be at this time, but we're going to look high and low and find somebody."

Working now with an outdated system and no new funding, Anderson is still dreaming about upgrades that would include cards for seniors with dementia and the mentally disabled…if he can get 75 new units at a cost of $5,000 apiece. For parents, the benefits are priceless.

One mom said, "There's definitely other things that could definitely be cut before this and yeah, I'd be disappointed. If it's something that could save my kid., then, it's something worth keeping."

"It's disconcerting actually, because it's really the only lace that we come into contact with somebody being able to fingerprint him and take his picture. So, a little bit sad about that, you know,” Tracey continued.

As of right now, there is no Federal funding for the next year, but Anderson is determined to return here somehow. If he gets the money for his upgrade, it would be in effect within two months, and seniors and the mentally disabled could get cards at the Fair next year. 

 

So what can you do?

• Keep a lock of hair for your child
• Take pictures often especially if their hair changes or as they get older and seem to change overnight
• Take mental notes of what you child is wearing when you take them to school or drop them off somewhere
• Know where your kids are playing, on-line and off-line
• Know your child's friends, their parents, and their phone numbers and even their online identitites
• Keep an open dialog with your kids about safety, who to call if there is trouble, how to protect themselves, to run from strangers and all the other stuff that all parents should be talking with their kids about on a daily basis. 

I know some of you are thinking – Why are you telling me this, I know all this stuff and I do all this stuff, I am a good parent?  We get busy in our lives, school schedules, soccer, cheerleading, football, homework, our jobs, our marriages, multiple children, cars, groceries, utility bills, etc.

This is just a reminder that it our own responsiblity to keep our kids safe.  Just because you registered your child in a database somewhere does not mean that they will be protected.  Those databases are for "after the child is missing" they are not Proactive in protecting your child.  

Here is Megan's Story. 

We will be providing more information from this successful program that really reaches teens.

Florida gets tough and proactive on finding, and arresting child predators across multiple states.  This was a very successful campaign and it is our hope that other states and law enforcement follow their operation. 

Nearly 30 people are under arrest for child-porn and child-exploitation after a joint federal crackdown.

The arrests stem all over Central Florida and even into other states. It was a joint operation of local, state and federal agents cracking down on those authorities are calling sexual predators. They say these men were preying on children enjoying their summer vacation.

"Kids are going to be out we know people are going to be on the internet," said Brevard County Sheriff Lt. Tod Goodyear. "Lets put something together lets actively go after them."

It was dubbed Operation Safe Summer. It went from late May to the end of July. Finally on Thursday, the last of the 26 so-called predators were under arrest, facing charges of child pornography, traveling to have sex with a minor and other crimes that will likely land them in federal prison.

Brevard County Sheriff Jack Parker was at a news conference announcing the arrests. "The way offenders today are able to migrate across jurisdictions and use computer technology to affect and impact our children who are living in other areas we have to work together," he said.

Standing out in this crowd is a Information Technology worker with Brevard Public Schools, a Lieutenant from the Kentucky State Police, and registered sex offenders. Authorities also say they found thousands of pictures, files, and videos of child porn on their computers.

"Removing these predators from access to children is one of the most important responsibilities we have," said Susan McCormick, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. They also put possible predators on alert.

"You can not hide, we will find you. we will arrest you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law," McCormick said.

This operation was initiated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide inititative combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.

  My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing . She has been missing for now two weeks . Maybe if everyone passes this on, someone will see this child . That is how the girl from Stevens Point was found by circulation of her picture on tv . The internet circulates even overseas, South America , and Canada etc . Please pass this to everyone in your address book . With GOD on her side she will be found . 'I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE . It is still not too late . Please help us . If anyone knows anything, please contact me at: HelpfindAshleyFlores@yahoo.com I am including a picture of her . All prayers are appreciated! ! '

Here is a link to a site that has a list of hoax emails about missing children, it's called the Hoax Slayer – If you get an email claiming that there is a child missing you can check this site to see if it is a possible scam. Some of these scams ask for money to go to charities to help missing children.

There is actually a case filed against a fake company claiming to help find missing children with canisters set all over town requesting donations.  The monies never went anywhere but into the pockets of those that created the scam. If you really do want to help and get involved here is the link to the National Center for Missing Children.  

When making donations to a fund or organization, you should always donate directly to the group that you want to help.  You will get a receipt from a reputable company that you can claim on your taxes. Missing and Exploited children is a real danger.  

There are many ways that you can help protect your children from abduction and to help law enforcement find the child right away.  Fighting these hoaxes is an ongoing problem that takes time away from the real work of real missing children.  You should not "pass on" any emails unless you have checked them for credibility first.

Now there is a petition for Caylee's Law .  As quoted in the Los Alamitos Patch an Oklahoma mother of two is the activist to get into law that it is a FELONY to not report a missing child.

'Caylee's Law' Petition Takes Off in Wake of Casey Anthony Verdict

A law proposed by an Oklahoma mother of two would make it a felony to fail to report a child that has gone missing. The grassroots effort has collected more than 150,00 signatures in less than 24 hours.

 

Outrage over the not-guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial has spurred an Oklahoma mother of two to gather more than 150,000 signatures for a law that would make it a federal crime to fail to report a child missing.

Here is an excerpt from ABC News

 Prosecutors built a case of circumstantial evidence that documented how Casey Anthony moved in with her boyfriend Tony Lazzaro shortly after Caylee disappeared, partied at clubs, took part in a "hot body" contest, and got the phrase "bella vita" — or beautiful life — tattoed on her shoulder in the month after Caylee died and while her mother was pretending she was still alive.

As her lies unraveled, it became apparent that Casey Anthony had created a fictional world in which she made up a job at Universal Studios and a dozen people who were friends, co-workers, lovers, babysitters and even Caylee's playmates.

Jurors watched hours of jailhouse tapes in which Casey Anthony elaborated on her lie about the babysitter, offering extensive details about this fictional nanny.

Much of the case turned on forensic evidence found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's Pontiac Sunfire. Prosecutors brought in experts in the arcane specialty of the smell of death to prove that an odor in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car was that of human decomposition. Casey Anthony's lawyers argued that the foul smell in Casey Anthony's car trunk was from rotting garbage, not a rotting body………
 

Even with all of this – She was found NOT guilty by the jury. Is this another OJ trial? What is your opinion?

The body of Amber Dubois, a 14-year-old Escondido teen missing for over a year, has been found in a rural area of northern San Diego County.

Dubois disappeared on the morning of Feb. 13, 2009, only about 100 yards from Escondido High School, Escondido California.

Escondido police held a press conference Sunday to make the announcement and discuss details of the case, which received new attention this week after the murder of teen Chelsea King.

Sex offender John Albert Gardner III, 30, has been charged with the attack on King, which happened Feb. 25 as she jogged in a park near her home.

Earlier this weekend, police searched Dubois's neighborhood, including a pond in Kit Carson Park, (which is less than 1 block from our house) and although they ended the search Saturday afternoon without any clues, a hiker coincidentally found her body in another part of the county that same afternoon.

Can you believe that?

It is not clear to what extent Gardner is now considered a suspect in Amber's murder, but rumors are flying around ever since his arrest in Chelsea Kings case.

Escondido police said they are withholding comment until the press conference.

There have been candle light vigil, national attention from America’s Most Wanted and other News stories and still no solid leads.  Is it possible for a child to disappear without a trace? This is something that it hard for each of us to understand. How does this happen?  Her father wrote this heart wrenching letter to let her know that he is searching for her.

Amber,

Hello my sweetheart, this is Dad. It’s late Friday night and I wanted to write you this letter since you are not here with me. This was supposed to be our weekend together and this afternoon at about the time I should be picking you up from the train station I was thinking about what I could do to talk to you like we would be doing right now. So I decided that tonight I would write you this letter and get it out where you might get a chance to read it.

One of your friends brought over a CD with pictures of you and your friends at their birthday beach party. Some cool pictures of you guys, one is of you running in the water at night by the pier with a cool sunset behind you. It reminds me of our midnight grunion run while camping last summer and all the fun we had that night catching all those darn fish with our hands. I guarantee on our next run, I will catch more than you!!!

Your Teacher Mr. Reyburn is keeping your lamb, ( Nénette ) for you till you get back. You can bet your Mom is looking as hard as she can for you since she will be doing your barn clean-up duties until you return.

This is still my weekend, so I will be waiting to hear from you so I can come get you. Next Friday is the 13th again and it will be a month that you have been away, I don’t want to wait that long before I get my next hug from you. Well, I really just wanted to say we all miss you and love you very much. I hope you get to read this, or better yet I hope you are back in my arms soon, so I can tell you in person. Don’t lose hope in our finding you. I will never lose hope in our search for you.

Always Loving You,

DAD  xoxo

Don’t lose hope, spread this  flyer around, ask your kids if they have seen her or know about her dissappearance, make conversation out of it.  Keep Amber in the top of your mind and we will bring her home safely.  As I wrote before, it doesn’t matter what led to her dissappearance, what matter is she is in danger, she is a child and needs to come home.

Here we go again; another 14 year old girl has gone missing from Escondido, CA.  This is the second time within a year that this happened from Escondido and rumor is the latest missing girl, Amber Dubois, is yet again another child that may have met someone on the internet and run away.  Last year it was Kristen Smith.

What are we doing as a society or as parents to prevent our children from making sometimes deadly but always dangerous decisions to develop relationships on the Internet with people they do not know?  You always think to yourself, “Not in my home, not in my town!” especially when you run an Internet Safety company in the same town as these two instances.

A little less than a year ago, there was an article written by Michelle Renee about Internet Safety and Education.  She listed the following facts:

* 64% of teens post photos or videos of themselves online, while more than half (58%) post info about where they live.

* 32% of all teens and 43% of teens active in social networking have been contacted online by a complete stranger.

* 69% of teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they don’t know and most of them don’t tell a trusted adult about it.

* 23% of children have had an encounter with a stranger on the Internet, including 7% of children who reported having met someone in the real world from the Internet.

* 79% of sexual solicitation incidents happened to youth while they were using their home computer.

* 40% of solicitations began with a solicitor communicating with a youth through an instant message or “IM”.

* 56% of solicitations contained a request for the youth to send photographs of themselves to the solicitor and 27% of solicitations contained a request for the youth to send a sexual picture of themselves.

* 34% of youth have encountered unwanted sexual material while online.

Obviously, the message did not hit home with Superior Court.  The Superior Court stated that there were enough resources available to the public that the Government did not need to regulate or censure the Internet.  We as a society must take action on our own.  We can’t wait for someone else to protect our kids for us.

What we need to focus on is the education of these children on the dangers of the Internet and we need to provide all the protection we can as parents. Researchers have proven that Parents are THE most effective teachers of Internet Safety to their children.

You may think “Oh, I have a filter or parental controls on our PC“

but have you really educated your child on Internet Safety?

We, as parents and as a society, need to instill safe practices into our children’s minds.  CEN is different than all the other parental control software providers because they combine Education with Technology.

ClubTUKI, the social media platform of Children’s Education Network, actually rewards kids with TUKI Moola (virtual currency) for playing games that teach Internet Safety and Best Practices.  What better way to get kids to learn something than to reward them? Club TUKI also teaches financial literacy with their auction and bank systems by allowing kids to use their Moola to bid “eBay style” on real items like Nintendo Wii’s and iPod’s and other cool KidSafe products.

It all comes down to interacting with your children from age 3 and beyond about safe internet practices, providing families with the technology that will protect them, and continuing to monitor and reward good choices.

Missing children, whatever the cause or reason, is not something you would ever wish on anyone.  It really doesn’t matter whether Amber Dubois chose to runaway, planned a meeting with an Internet “friend,” or was abducted.  Amber is a child, a child of our community, she is in danger and we all need to do what we can to help her get home,  as well as prevent others from the same fate.

I just spoke with Escondido Police Department and “there aren’t any new updates at this time” was all they could tell me.  This is a truly sad story that has caused an outbreak of infighting and bickering between city and county officials,  police departments, the media and many concerned citizens.

It appears that because she is 14 she is of the “runaway” age, especially because she has divorced parents and that it the stance that the officials are taking.  They say that this Amber does not meet the criteria for an “Amber Alert.”  I can’t remember ever hearing that child predators only seek out children that are from traditional family units and that they aren’t interested in children after they turn 14.  Have you ever heard that?

I called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and they do have her listed as a missing child, but they are not the one’s who issue Amber Alerts so she is not listed on the Amber Alert page.  The kind lady who answered the phone said that each state has different criteria for what constitutes and Amber Alert and that they couldn’t help me any further but they did lead me to the California State Clearinghouse for Missing Children, they in turn have led me to the Highway Patrol.

It seems the Highway Patrol is in charge of issuing Amber Alerts in California.  The California Highway Patrol office that handles Escondido put me through to Don Fields and he “has no answer for me” but referred me back to the Escondido Police Department since they are the investigating agency. So again I called the Escondido Police Department and no one is available to speak with me.

I did leave my cell phone number and will promptly update this post as soon as they return my call.  I am very concerned about this girl and being from Escondido myself I am very concerned about the message we are sending to child predators.  I can’t even write the things that are running through my head right now.

Amber Leeanne Dubois is 14, and 14 is still VERY young, she dissappeared on her way to school on Friday, February 13th, the day she was finally able to purchase the Lamb that she had been waiting for, for a school project.  Similar looking girls have been attempted to be abducted in local towns including Poway which is just a few miles south of here.  Please contact your local police department or call 911 if you have any information about this girl.  Whether she ranaway or not, she is in danger and needs to be brought home to her parents, who must be going through a living hell right now. My thoughts are prayers go out to them.

Please forward this post or this information to everyone you know – if Escondido won’t post an Amber Alert, let’s make our own.  Post this on every website and social media site, every email you have and make flyers if you can.  Someone knows where this girl is and we need to do all we can to find her.

Kymberley Page

for Children’s Educational Network

Escondido, CA 92025

760-233-2863

AMBER Alert in Southern California

Please CLICK HERE to find out more information.

Here at KidSafe – We have created a new category for Amber Alerts to keep you up to date on missing and abducted children.  Here is the most recent from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Suspect

Vehicle Information

If you have any information about the above abduction or if you see this child, please contact your local police authority or dial 911. Thank – Please spread the word!

The message will also include a photo of the victim which tempts you to hastily forward the message to others without verifying whether the case is true. Despite our hopes of a quick child recovery, the email lacks vital and imperative information concerning missing children.

Such vital information consists of; Date of birth, Ethnicity, Height, Weight, Hair color, Eye color, Law enforcement contact information, Place last seen, and Clothing description.

The Ashley Flores internet hoax is not unique. The email joins a list of other false emails such as Penny Brown, Christopher Mineo, Evan Trembley, and Kelsey Jones.

Sometimes a missing person’s message will contain the words “Amber Alert”.

To be considered for an AMBER Alert the case must fit into specific criteria.

1. There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.

2. The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.

3. The law-enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

4. There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to believe that the public will be able to assist in the recovery of the child.

Ashley Flores’ email is not an AMBER Alert. As a resource, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) contains an archive of all the open and closed missing children’s cases in America.

If you receive a missing child email, please utilize these resources before you forward it:

• Visit the city’s local news channel sites to find a report or an article
• Google the child’s name or visit www.snopes.com
• Visit www.AmberAlert.com
• Visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

If your searches cannot verify the email, it is most likely untrue. Please delete false missing person emails and discourage the sender from forwarding them onto others.

Thank you for supporting our efforts.