Are You Really Ready to Help Find The Missing?

May 11, 2008

We’re all here because we want to help find missing persons but just how prepared are we to find someone who’s missing? John Mercure, a reporter with Today’s TMJ4 News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, decided to find out just how ready we really are.

The Pettit National Ice Center is an Olympic training center, located in Milwaukee. When not being  used to train speed skaters for international competition, the ice can be open to anyone who wants to skate, but it is also used to train figure skaters and for local hockey teams to practice and play tournaments. It is a busy place, with hundreds of kids around, parents waiting for their kids as well as parents dropping off and picking up kids as hundreds of kids and adults taking advantage of the ice.

The Today’s TMJ4 I-Team printed up some posters that said in bold letters, MISSING with a large photo of 9 year old Jason, and a phone number to call if Jason is seen. The team put up the posters on the front door, in the lobby, anywhere people would see them. One of them was even in front of a hidden camera, one of several placed around the lobby.

The team then placed the most interesting item of all into the ice center: Jason.

Missing Poster
Have you seen this Boy? Really?
He’s right in front of you.

The number of people who looked at the poster and looked right past Jason was amazing.

Watch the video here, on the website of WTMJ-TV, Today’s TMJ4.  It is a most eye opening report!

Mercure interviewed some of them.

John: “Did you see the poster on the wall right there? Is that one you saw?”

Kelly: “Yes. Oh my gosh. There’s that child.”

Laurie, walked right past the poster. She then looked at a copy of it on the counter and walked away, Mercure approached her and asked her about the poster, showing her a copy.

John: “What do you think of that?”

Laurie: “That’s not good at all.”

John: “Can you look right there?”

Laurie: SIGHS “There he is. I didn’t see it.”

Several people also saw the posters then looked at Jason, and recognized him. One person agonized over what to do, and finally pointed out Jason to the attendants at the desk. Mercure says that adults seemed the most puzzled about what to do, but several youngsters simply walked up to Jason and asked if he was okay.

Mercure went on to report that Joel Diehn, the crime prevention officer with the Glendale Police Department, advises that changing our habits can make us more observant and help us become better citizens. He says small things can make us more observant. “Pick one thing at a time,” he told Mercure. “For example: ‘I’m not going to text message my friends and family while I’m going to and from my car or whatever it might be. I’m going to pay attention,’”

Mercure says, “Paying a little more attention could pay off for our kids. Each year 800,000 children are reported missing.”

And being a little more observant might help bring one more missing person home.

Report information and transcript courtesy of Today’s TMJ4 Television, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Reporter: John Mecure 

Written by Ghost Writer · Filed Under Commentary, Media and the Missing, Missing Children 

Comments

One Response to “Are You Really Ready to Help Find The Missing?”

  1. Tom Goode on September 3rd, 2008 11:32 am

    there is no where to sign up?

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