"Truckers
Helping to Recover Ohio's Missing
Children" is an initiative that will
provide the ability to go beyond the normal
protocol when searching for children. This
initiative will provide an alert that can be
issued simultaneously with an AMBER alert or
when an AMBER alert may not be issued but the
missing child meets the truckers' alert
criteria. Through the cooperation of Ohio's
trucking industry, law enforcement will have
additional means of searching for children who
have been abducted by a stranger or a family
member, locate runaways who are believed to be
endangered, or to locate a child who is lost
or has gone missing.
"Historically,
truck drivers have been known for the aid they
provide to stranded motorists and accident
victims, and this partnership with the Ohio
Attorney General's Office to help locate
missing children will further that
cause," said Ohio Trucking Association
President Larry A. Davis. "Truckers
Helping To Recover Ohio's Missing Children
will put many more eyes and ears on our
highways to assist law enforcement in
returning loved ones to their families. It
is a perfect fit, and our industry stands
ready to assist in any way we can."
How it
works:
- A
child goes missing and is reported to law
enforcement.
- Law
enforcement determines a call to
"Truckers Helping To Recover Ohio's
Missing Children" is warranted and
contacts the Ohio Missing Children
Clearinghouse to issue the alert.
- The
Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse will
broadcast fax/e-mail the child's information
to all of the participating trucking
companies within the local or regional area
that the law enforcement designates.
- The
receiving trucking companies will post the
information in their drivers' lounges and
dispatch offices, as well as include the
information with the driver s' dispatches.
- When
a child is found, a notice will go out to
the trucking companies that the child has
been recovered.
The
Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association and the
Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police helped
develop the criteria law enforcement will
follow to make a call to "Truckers
Helping To Recover Ohio's Missing
Children."
"We
certainly appreciate the efforts of the
associations allowing their drivers to put
extra eyes on the roads, highways and rest
areas of the state to assist in locating
missing children throughout Ohio," said
Robert Cornwell, Executive Director, Buckeye
State Sheriffs' Association.
"A
missing child is the most horrific ordeal for
any parent to experience. The safe return of a
missing child is the most critical of all
public awareness campaigns undertaken today.
The trucking industry and its thousands of
members who travel our roadways daily will
provide valuable assistance as a resource to
the community," said Chief Dwight A.
Holcomb, Upper Arlington Division of Police,
Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police Executive
Board Member. "A mobile and wide reaching
network of professional truck drivers that
will help bring a successful and timely
conclusion for anguishing parents in the safe
return home of their missing child."
The Ohio Trucking Association is the first on
board with this initiative, but many
organizations and companies have since signed
up for the launch, including: Mid-States Meat
Association, Midwest Dairy Foods Association,
Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals
Association, Ohio Coal Association, Ohio
Grocers Association, Ohio Lumbermen's
Association, Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete
Association, Ohio Soft Drink Association, and
the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of
Ohio.
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