Nine Children Reported Missing, Killed So Far This Year

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Nine children reported missing, including three girls, have been killed during the period January to August this year even as the Jamaica government says more than 85 percent of children reported missing during that period have since returned home.

Youth and Culture Minister, Lisa Hanna, said that 1,297 of the 1,518 children reported missing over the period, have been successfully reunited with their families.

But she said nine children were found dead and 212 are still missing.

“I have mandated the OCR (Office of the Children’s Registry) to devise a successful and reliable system of informing the public of when there is recovery and the return of missing children because still, persons feel that a lot of the children have not been recovered when they actually have and successfully so,” Hanna said.

She also urged parents to ensure that they have a recent photograph of their child, and also supply a copy to the school at the start of every academic year, as this will assist in the recovery effort in the event a child goes missing.

“If we all assist to create stronger platforms and integration mechanisms to work with the various government agencies, and if something happens to your child, the recovery will be a lot quicker. We are utilising electronic media now and we are utilizing billboards.”

Hanna said that for financial year 2013/14, the government has allocated J$6.7 million (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) to the Ananda Alert program in assisting in the search for missing children.

The OCR has recruited an Ananda Alert officer and has shortlisted persons for the position of Ananda Alert administrator following the approval of new posts by the Cabinet.

Ms. Hanna noted that three strategies are being proposed to create a more effective public advisory system.

“One is safety information to reduce the number of children that go missing; two, instances of missing children that are complete with names, locations, photographs and other pertinent information; and three, the recovery and return of missing children.”

The Ananda Alert is a nationwide system, designed to ensure a speedy and safe recovery of a missing child whose name and picture will be publicized in the media as well as billboards and multimedia equipment in stores, supermarkets, pharmacies and other locations.