FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — In just the last year, Kentucky has had more than 3,700 children reported missing. Some leave on their own volition due to an abusive situation in the home. Others are simply abducted. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, the attorney general’s office has always taken the matter quite seriously.
On Wednesday morning, AG Daniel Cameron, and his top lawyer when it comes to missing and exploited children, announced a major campaign aimed at alleviating the state’s missing child crisis. It’s called, “It Saves to Know” and the United States Department of Justice is throwing its weight behind the program offering $175,000 to help with funding.
“The initiative has many goals. It’ll protect kids from human trafficking, identify the signs that a child might run away, equip families with the information necessary to locate their child quickly,” Attorney General Cameron explained.
Heather Wagers, an attorney on Cameron’s staff, is a parent who has worked tirelessly on this campaign.
“I think most parents have had a panic moment where they’ve not been able to lay eyes on their child, and not know where they are for a nanosecond,” she said during Wednesday’s press conference in Frankfort.
Law enforcement officials agree, the first day or two are the most critical when searching for a missing child.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say one out of six children that go missing are approached in the first 48 hours by a trafficker,” Mrs. Wagers said.
The reason, she explained, for that, is the child’s immediate need for food and shelter. A trafficker can often offer those while presenting themselves as being the supportive adult the child needs at the time. It makes them very easy prey.
Mr. Cameron said that the bulk of the resources within this program will be funneled to the state’s high-risk areas. Mrs. Wagers said those areas include, Lexington, Jefferson County (Louisville), Bowling Green and Owensboro.
