TORONTO – LEGAL – Finding missing children and youth is the goal of a new program from the Missing Children Society of Canada. The new effort is generating support from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC)’s new Search program, dubbed ‘Milk Carton 2.0™’-a game-changing virtual search party that grows the reach of urgent child search alerts-has the official endorsement from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP).

The CACP Board of Directors enthusiastically supports MCSC and the unique solution the Search program offers to law enforcement in missing children cases. Engaging individuals, corporate Canada and the media in such an innovative approach will enable rapid deployment of resources to assist law enforcement to expand their efforts as required.

The CACP actively encourages policing leadership to evaluate and consider the Search program within their respective jurisdictions-a significant step in the right direction as Canadian municipalities work to implement proactive and collaborative solutions to find missing children.

“Keeping our children safe is a goal shared by every police officer in this country. Working with the Missing Children Society of Canada brings us closer to achieving that goal. We owe our children nothing less,” says Vancouver Police Chief Constable Jim Chu, President of CACP.

“The ability for the police to work with the Missing Children Society to push out this information to people in the community is critical to maximizing the likelihood that that child is going to be located before something bad happens,” adds Calgary Police Service Chief Rick Hanson.

The Search program is an emergency response network comprised of three distinct channels of engagement:

– MCSC’s partnership with Marketwired allows Critical Child Search Alerts to be instantly sent to thousands of media outlets across the country, harnessing the reach of traditional and digital media.

– The World’s Most Valuable Social Network, created by Grey Canada, allows MCSC to notify users who have donated their feeds, via Facebook and Twitter, of missing children in their area, effectively creating the world’s first online search party.

– CodeSearch™ is a rapid response app-based communications and technology platform that engages corporate partners, their employees and resources, through geo-targeted push notifications and real-time news feeds. This first-of-its-kind platform was developed by Calgary-based Strut Creative.

“There is no other organization running a program like ours with this technology and the ability to connect, in real-time, law enforcement with millions of well-placed Canadians as soon as a child goes missing,” says Amanda Pick, executive director of the Missing Children Society of Canada. “We are honoured that the police chiefs across our country see the value and potential of our program.”

May is Missing Children’s Month and May 25, 2014 is National Missing Children’s Day. There are over 41,000 children reported missing in Canada every year. While most of these cases are quickly resolved, many children remain missing.

“We are taking away time and anonymity, exactly what child abductors require. The legacy of this Search program will be changing the way we stop child abductions in Canada,” says Pick.

About MCSC

Since 1986, MCSC has been reuniting missing children with their searching families through professional investigations, public awareness and family support programs. MCSC is the only non-profit organization in Canada that employs an in-house team of former police officers to work in a support role with law enforcement, conducting frontline, hands-on investigative and search activities.

About The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police was established in 1905 and represents approximately 1,000 police leaders from across Canada. The Association is dedicated to the support and promotion of efficient law enforcement and to the protection and security of the people of Canada. Through its member police chiefs and other senior police executives, the CACP represents in excess of 90% of the police community in Canada which include federal, First Nations, provincial, regional and municipal, transportation and military police leaders.

Stopping Child Abduction in Canada: MCSC Reunites Families

Facts about Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC)

• May 25th is International Missing Children’s Day. Founded in 1986, Missing Children Society of Canada has a mission to reunite missing children with their searching families through professional investigations, public awareness and family support programs.

• In 2012/13, MCSC investigators worked on a total of 251 registered files, closing 170 of them. That’s one closed file every two days.

• Approximately 41,000 children are reported missing every year in Canada. The investigation team fields over 800 calls for help every year.

• A significant portion of MCSC’s cases are parental abductions and in one year alone, MCSC assisted in 22 cases with Hague applications resulting in 19 international reunifications.

• MCSC’s team of former law enforcement volunteers work closely with international, federal and municipal police agencies while conducting frontline, hands-on investigation and search activities. All services are provided at no cost to families.

• In 2012, MCSC launched the World’s Most Valuable Social Network (MVN) to harness the power of social media to unite Canadians in the search for missing children. It was first used in August 2012 to bring home a 16-year-old girl who didn’t qualify for AMBER status but who law enforcement felt was in danger. Within 48 hours, the child was located and almost a million Canadians had seen the child’s photo and information.

• When a child goes missing, MCSC sends pertinent time-sensitive information to Canadians through three arms of communication: MVN, Codesearch (geo-targeted push notification alerts to corporate partners and employees) and Marketwired alerts to every media outlet in the country. This program, Milk Carton 2.0, allows MCSC to reach millions of people within a three-hour window.

• MCSC is 100% funded by donations. Donations help MCSC continue to develop and offer unique programs that are changing the way missing children cases are approached globally.

• Please visit http://goo.gl/VnmXUW to view a short new video for MVN, a tool endorsed by the CACP.

• For more information or to make a donation to help MCSC bring even more children home, visit: www.mcsc.ca or call 1-800-661-6160