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Kawartha Lakes – In the Committee of the Whole meeting on January 10, 2023, Council received a presentation by Kawartha Lakes Police Services (KLPS) Chief Mark Mitchell, Detachment Commander for the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP Tim Tatchell, and Missing Children's Society of Canada’s (MCSC) CEO Amanda Pick.
Following the tragic drowning of Draven Graham in June 2022, Kawartha Lakes OPP and KLPS have worked closely with stakeholders to adopt a new way to help find missing children faster. There are 40,000 missing children reported every year in Canada.
Together with the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, along with digital partner Esri Canada, the Missing Children’s Society of Canada has launched a national network and app to be used in all high risk children’s cases that don’t meet the amber alert criteria. The Child Search Network and the MCSC rescu app allows every Canadian to be a part of the search.
Deputy Mayor Tracy Richardson supported the initiative and commented, “When Draven went missing last June, the outpouring of support was second to none, but we wished we could do more. By having a missing children alert system put in place we have an opportunity to react faster as a community when minutes could make a difference. The rescu app draws together law enforcement, corporations and citizens. I want to thank both Chief Mitchell and Detachment Commander Tatchell for exploring how Kawartha Lakes can make a difference moving forward.”
The Deputy Mayor’s motion to recommend to Regular Council that the City be a participant in the MCSC Child Search Network, including the adoption of the MCSC rescu app, and participation in advocacy and communications in partnership with MCSC and KLPS to expand the MCSC Child Search Network was adopted. The recommendation will be brought forward for Council consideration at the next Regular Council Meeting on January 31, 2023.
The MCSC rescu app launched in 2021, and work is ongoing to expand its reach to to include high risk seniors, adults with autism and Indigenous missing women.
“We encourage everyone in Kawartha Lakes to download the MCSC rescu app to their mobile devices to work with us to help provide an additional layer of protection to the young people in our community,” said Detachment Commander Tatchell.
To see updated cases of missing children in Canada, leave a tip and/or sign up for SMS alerts, visit the MCSC Child Search Network. The MCSC rescu app is also available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, links to download the MCSC rescu app can be found here.
The recording for the January 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, including the full MCSC presentation, can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.
About Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC)
The Missing Children Society of Canada's (MCSC) mandate is to help return missing children to a safe environment. The organization, established in 1986, has evolved from one distributing posters to find a missing child to one embracing the latest technology to help police in the search for that child. MCSC also reaches out to enlist the help of other professionals in the search and location of missing children in addition to working with traditional media and online/social media to bring public awareness to cases of missing kids. MCSC provides affected families with knowledge and resources throughout the search and reunification while ensuring that all its programs are free so that all families in need of help receive it, regardless of their financial situation.
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