New system to help track missing persons

New system to help track missing persons

May 15, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A new tool is available for locating missing persons — and local law-enforcement officers are leading the pack in putting it to use.

The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office is the first law-enforcement agency in Southwest Colorado to acquire a new computer-generated system that aids the downloading and dispersing of photographs of missing or wanted persons to law agencies across the country in a matter of minutes.

Sheriff Joey Chavez learned about TRAK (technology to recover abducted kids) at a statewide sheriff’s conference last fall and took the initiative to apply for a grant that covered the cost of the $7,500 system. The computer, scanner and printer arrived last winter and have been put to work transmitting everything from missing children’s posters to criminal picture line-ups.

"It’s a very handy tool," Chavez said.

Sheriff’s Detective Hugh Richards said when a picture is obtained, it is scanned into the computer and descriptive elements are added beside it. Then the poster is sent to AT&T via a telephone line and dispersed to designated recipients.

"I can transmit to any fax or other TRAK system," Richards explained. "What this does is, if I find out we’ve got a missing kid, within five minutes or less, I can have a poster done and sent out."

Each poster sent costs the department 18 cents and the system service cost is minimal as well, Chavez said.

The system also allows the sending agency to distribute the picture to designated geographical regions and select law-enforcement agencies.

Although the system was created specifically for missing children, Richards said it will aid in many tasks, including locating missing Alzheimer’s patients and endangered adults, felons and fugitives.