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Press
Release
NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN ASKS MEDIA
FOR CORRECTION
January 29, 2006 - Alexandria, VA - Recent news reports
have stated that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC) was among the organizations contacted by Georgia resident Tracie
Dean. This was not true. NCMEC was not among the organizations Ms. Dean
contacted. Ms. Dean confirmed this on Saturday, January 28, 2006 when
she contacted NCMEC. She indicated she had reviewed her telephone records
and had made a mistake. She stated she had not contacted NCMEC and apologized
for the mistake. NCMEC is requesting that the news media correct this
information in all future reports.
NCMEC maintains a 24-hour hotline and all calls are recorded. After the
story broke, all calls to the hotline during that timeframe were reviewed
and no call from Ms. Dean was found. “We take our work very seriously.
The public’s confidence and trust in us is important to our success
in helping missing and sexually exploited children,” said Ernie
Allen, NCMEC’s President and CEO. “It is important that people
not be left with the wrong impression that we were unresponsive to a call
to our hotline. It is important that continuing coverage of this story
include corrected information.”
Ms. Dean is the Georgia resident who earlier this month had a chance
meeting with a 3-year old girl in an Alabama convenience store and believed
the girl was in trouble. Her efforts are credited with leading to the
arrest of the apparent guardians of the child for alleged sex crimes and
abuse against the girl as well as a boy who was living with the couple.
“We applaud Ms. Dean’s unrelenting determination to protect
the welfare of this child. We need more people like Ms. Dean in this country
who will trust their gut instincts and get involved with helping another
person who may be in danger,” said Allen. “If they see something
they think isn’t right, they should call law enforcement first and
then notify us.”
As this case moves forward, NCMEC is currently assisting the FBI on gathering
additional information on the alleged suspects to determine if other victims
may have been harmed.
Since 1984, the mission of NCMEC has been to help prevent child abduction
and sexual exploitation; help find missing children; and assist victims
of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals
who serve them. To date, we have received more than 2 million calls for
assistance and assisted law enforcement with more than 117,000 cases which
has resulted in the recovery of more than 99,500 missing children.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. NCMEC’s congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting
mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 350,000
leads. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline
at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
CONTACT:
Communications Department
NCMEC
703-837-6111
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