Facebook is announcing that they are teaming up with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help find missing children by revolutionizing the way AMBER Alerts are delivered. Facebook’s new distribution system will send AMBER Alerts to people’s News Feeds if they are in the designated search area after a child has been abducted.
This system is unique because alerts will only be shown to people who are most likely in a position to help – those directly within the designated search area. The alert will include important details about the child such as a photo, description, location of the abduction, and any other available information that can be provided to the public to aid in the search. People will also have a direct link to the most up-to-date information about the case and, importantly, will be able to share the alert with friends – a feature no other system offers.
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
The chances of finding a missing child increase when more people are on the lookout – especially in the first few hours. The goal of the AMBER Alert program is to quickly galvanize the entire community in the search and recovery of a missing child. Facebook will complement existing alert systems by helping to reach more people in the targeted search area and encourage them to spread the word by sharing the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s poster with their friends.
People have already been using Facebook on their own to help find missing children; Last year, an 11-year-old girl was safely recovered after a South Carolina motel employee recognized a photo of the girl in a Facebook post about the AMBER alert that had been issued. The woman called the police, and the child was found unharmed. It is amazing word-of-mouth efforts like this that inspired Facebook to develop a more systematic way to help find missing children.
