A story featured in this week’s news involves the possible
return of a missing child.
By Kat Teraji
A story featured in this week’s news involves the possible return of a missing child.
In October 2000, while his aunt took a nap, 4-year-old Buddy Myers disappeared from his home without a trace. On Feb. 3, 2003, a filthy 6-year-old boy called Eli was brought to a hospital three states away. He was taken into protective custody.
A caseworker sent Eli’s picture to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who matched his snapshot to one of Buddy Myers. He’s older and bigger now, but his facial features bear a marked resemblance to Buddy’s.
If Buddy’s parents had retained a copy of his fingerprints or a DNA profile, he would already be home. But for now he remains in foster care until it can be proven that he is indeed the same little boy who has been missing for two years. This story highlights just one advantage of keeping good records of our children on hand.
May 17 and 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be an opportunity to make our children safer when the first annual Gilroy Children’s Safety Weekend is held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6070 Monterey St. Marc Klaas has announced a “Klaas Kids Print-A-Thon” in Gilroy.
The KlaasKids Foundation was established in 1994 to give meaning to the death of Marc’s 12-year-old daughter Polly Klaas, who was kidnapped from her home and murdered. The foundation creates a legacy in her name that will be protective of children for generations to come.
The foundation will make digital photos and fingerprint I.D.s available free of charge in Gilroy for two days, using state-of-the-art equipment developed for federal law enforcement agencies. No misuse of this information is possible since none of this information is stored. The only record of this visit is retained by you, the parents.
America’s continued evolution is predicated on the unspoken promise of past generations that we will give our children a better world than was given to us. Yet, according to the National Safety Council, nearly 3,000 children in the U.S. die each year from unintentional injuries at home, while more than 3 million children are treated annually in emergency rooms. More than 2,100 children are reported missing each day. If any other segment of our population were so affected, we would declare an epidemic.
The KlaasKids Foundation believes we can go far toward protecting our children by distilling the best knowledge and information through a societal approach that extends from the president’s cabinet table to the family’s kitchen table. We can win the war for our children’s future by acknowledging that crimes against children deserve a high priority on both national and personal agendas. Then, by forming and promoting partnerships with concerned citizens, the private sector, organizations and law enforcement, we take responsibility to become part of the solution to fighting crime.
This weekend’s event will feature everything from demonstrations of self-defense to free children’s car safety seat inspections. Bring the kids for the fun: bouncies, balloon twister, slide, popcorn machine, and hot dog and soda stand. Win a raffle prize or try the food cooked by the Hilton’s gourmet chef.
All net proceeds from the nonprofit event go to benefit St. Joseph’s Family Center and other participating nonprofit organizations.
Many local residents are volunteering to make this event possible. Come for the fun and learn something about safety while benefiting our community.
For more information, go to www.DovePages.com.
Kat Teraji is a columnist for the Gilroy Dispatch. E-mail her at
ka****@ea*******.net
.
