Preparing gives peace of mind
11-4-02

By TIM YEADON, Staff Writer
News & Record

MAYODAN -- Lisa Adkins of Mayodan was a panicky mother long before the summer of abductions began, when America was introduced to such names as Jennifer Short and Elizabeth Smart.

And now, Adkins' plans to nurture her three boys into men seems so much more important.

So much so, in fact, that she bought three "Child Shield USA" kits made by a Florida company that promises to post a $50,000 reward if one of her children is abducted in the next two years.

Adkins bought the three kits for about $75 from Madison police officer Mike James, a local dealer who says that in an emergency the company also will distribute missing-children fliers and photos and archived videotapes of the children.

"I'm already a frantic mother," Adkins said. "I feel I'm doing something to protect them."

Though such kits are helpful, experts say that not everybody must spend money to safeguard their children.

"You'd be surprised at just how simple it can be to prepare," says Jane Davison, a specialist at the N.C. Center for Missing Persons in Raleigh. "There are things they can easily do at home for very little cost."

Her agency offers a child-identification form for parents to fill out and save in case of emergency.

Often, distraught parents interviewed shortly after their child is determined missing will describe in detail their child's scars, hair color and mannerisms, only to realize they are describing a child who happens to be standing next to them.

The kit is valuable at such times.

"You put it somewhere so you don't have to remember all the details," Davison said. "If it's up to date, then parents only have to remember what clothes the children were wearing."

Davison says that most abductions are not as high-profile as that of 9-year-old Jennifer Short, who's skeletal remains were found in September, six weeks after her parents were killed and she was taken from her Bassett, Va., home. Jennifer's murder remains unsolved, as does the abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, who was taken from her bed at gunpoint June 5 in Salt Lake City.

Instead, most child abductions are by parents who have lost custody of their children.

The N.C. Center for Missing Persons says that 52 children in North Carolina have been taken by their noncustodial parents in the past nine months. Since January 2000, five children in North Carolina have been abducted by strangers.

The FBI estimates that nationwide, 85 percent to 90 percent of all missing persons are juveniles.

Contact Tim Yeadon at 627-4881, Ext. 120, or tyeadon@news-record.com

http://www.news-record.com/news/local/rock/identify04.htm