🎥: When kids go missing, police say report it immediately

By BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post

Your child has gone missing or run away, what should you do?

Riley County Police Department says your first step should be to call them, either using 911 or the local police department.

“In the event that they do run away, don’t hesitate to call us and call us immediately, I mean that’s a number one, especially the younger they are, you know, time is of the essence, so if you don’t know where your child is, call us immediately, and if it’s an emergency, especially if they’re younger, don’t hesitate to call us on 911.” Riley County Police Department, Communications Manager, Tyler Siefkes says. 

“I feel like sometimes parents don’t immediately notify us because there might be a shame associated with them not being able to control their children, and that’s just part of life, that’s part of parenting, is that your kids don’t always listen to you.” Riley County Police Department, Dispatch Supervisor, Sarah Martin says. 

When a child goes missing, parents and guardians need to be prepared for questions from Law Enforcement, those questions are being asked to help determine the best steps to take to bring the child home quickly. 

“If you guys had an argument because they wanted to go to the mall or to a concert, that could be a good lead for us to start, is ‘ok you said no to: going swimming.’ We’re going to go check the pools, because they might just be defying you a little bit and it’s not their intention to run away, they’re just being kids. So, like, telling us as much as you can to give us those good ideas of maybe where to start the search is really helpful.” Martin says. 

Community members often ask why an Amber Alert is not used utilized more often in the cases of missing kids, and RCPD says there are very specific requirements to be met before an Amber Alert can be issued. The first requirement is that the child has been abducted, which recent missing children's cases in Riley County have not met. Details on other requirements can be found here. 

RCPD also recommends keeping an updated picture of your child handy. The picture can then be sent out to officers and used for social media posts to alert the community to be on the lookout for your child. 

“You don’t probably ever know when this will happen but it is just important to pay attention, pay attention to what your child is wearing that day, because clothes will be one of the questions that a dispatcher asks, in the event that they do run away.” 

The Riley County Police Department also has a program which provides details to police officers who may come in contact with someone who has difficulty communicating with others, called Project: Guardians. 

“The main goal of Project: Guardians is to give officers on patrol immediate access to information about children that may frequently go away from the home, as far as, sometimes with children with autism and other cognitive disorders, and it’s not just limited to children either, it’s adults that may have Alzheimer’s or dementia. If there’s any concern about somebody in your family that may go missing or go away from the residence at any point, or that may just come upon a police officer in any sort of situation and may have difficulty communicating with that police officer, they should be enrolled in Project: Guardians. It gives us information about how to communicate with that person, and gives officers a picture of that person right away and it’s a great program, so we’re trying to spread the word about that as much as possible,” Siefkes says. 

You can sign up for Project: Guardians using this link.