The Herald-News - News Story

Every passing minute is critical when a child goes missing.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 800,000 children are reported missing each year - that's one child every 40 seconds. And 74 percent of abducted children who are murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction.

That is why Rhea County law enforcement and school officials are pursuing AmberVision, a highly sophisticated system that is aimed at promptly returning missing children to their families.

Michael Oppizzi with AmberVision in Ooltewah, Tenn., introduced the program to the Rhea County School Board members at its monthly meeting Aug. 13. After enthusiastic discussion, the board passed a motion to take steps to implement the system.

"I thought it was something we desperately needed," said Director of Schools Jerry Levengood.

Oppizzi first introduced the program to the sheriff's department last year, according to Rhea County Chief Deputy John Argo.

"Anything we can do to keep our kids safe is a plus," Argo told The Herald-News on Monday.

AmberVision, which works in conjunction with the AMBER Alert System nationwide, was founded in 2003 in Morgantown, W. Va. Whereas the AMBER Alert System requires missing children to meet four criteria before qualifying for the system, AmberVision works for any missing child circumstance.

In addition to serving children under 18-years-old, AmberVision can be used for missing elderly citizens, people with medical conditions or for community emergencies and natural disasters.

If the program is implemented in the county, parents or guardians can visit www.ambervision.org and enroll in the program for $11.99 per year per child. All that is required is information on the child and his parents and a clear photograph of him, which will be converted into a rotating 3-D image.

Kids who are on the free- or reduced-lunch program can sign up for AmberVision at no cost, Oppizzi added.

Should the child go missing, that information will be instantly sent to law enforcement agents' cell phones and computers, saving precious moments in the search for the child.

If an officer finds the child, he can use a PDA to send a photo of the child to the database for comparison to the image of the missing child, a process that takes only 60 seconds.

"When you're upset, you don't remember exactly what your child looks like," said Oppizzi, explaining why a photo database of children is helpful to officers.

Oppizzi said that half the revenue from the enrollment costs will funnel back into the school system, and some of it will contribute to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as well.

"If it's at no cost or no major cost to the county, then it's something we need to look into," said Chief Deputy Argo.

Michelle Friesen can be reached at michelle.friesen@rheaheraldnews.com.