FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2003 |
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MICHAEL AND SUSAN DELL FOUNDATION FUND UNIQUE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM
FOR URGENT CASES OF CHILD ABDUCTION AND EXPLOITATION
$3 Million Dollar Grant for “Team Adam” is Among Largest Cash
Donations Ever to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NEW YORK – January 29, 2003 – The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
today announced it will provide $3 million dollars in start-up funding
for a national missing child rapid response program known as “Team Adam.”
Operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
and named after the abducted and murdered son of NCMEC co-founders, John
and Revé Walsh, Team Adam dispatches an on-site response and support
system that provides human and technical assistance to local law enforcement
officers who investigate cases of child abduction and child sexual exploitation.
“Our family is proud to support this important program, one that will
ensure all available resources are being utilized in these horrible cases
where a child is victimized,” said Susan Dell, co-founder of the Michael
and Susan Dell Foundation. “When Michael and I were presented with
this idea, we immediately agreed to help. We knew it was something
we wanted to be a part of. As parents of four young children, we
can only imagine the nightmare that victims and their families experience.
No greater harm can be done to a community than to have a child stolen,
abused and perhaps murdered.”
Patterned in concept after the National Transportation Safety Board’s
system for sending specialists to the site of serious transportation incidents,
Team Adam sends trained, retired law enforcement officers to the site of
serious child abductions and cases of child sexual exploitation.
The specialists, who work in full cooperation with federal, state and local
law enforcement agencies, advise and assist local investigators, provide
access to NCMEC’s extensive human and technological resources, and assist
the victim’s family and the media, as appropriate. As needed, the
specialists also provide the latest computer and communications technology
to the investigating agency to enable rapid distribution of critical information
to other agencies and personnel.
“We have dreamed of having this kind of proactive, on-site resource
to help local investigators and families ever since the Center was created
eighteen years ago,” noted NCMEC co-founder John Walsh. “Today, with
the support of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, that dream becomes
a reality. We’re deeply touched by the Dell’s generosity and grateful
to them for putting Team Adam in action. Revé and I consider this
program a great tribute to our son.”
An initial team of specialists are currently on call to respond directly
to the scene of these incidents. The specialists are chosen based
on their expertise and, secondly, on their geographic home base to minimize
response time and travel costs. All Team Adam specialists are chosen
through a formal selection board process that includes the participation
and involvement of the FBI. Included in the initial team are former
agents of the FBI, former officers from the New York Police Department,
Los Angeles Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Phoenix Police
Department, and others.
“Time is the enemy in missing child cases,” remarked NCMEC President
Ernie Allen. “If the investigating agency hasn’t experienced a stranger
abduction, they might not know how to react, about best practices, and
that is why Team Adam is so important. These specialists will be
there to provide resources – from their own years of experience and from
their extensive knowledge and access to NCMEC’s 24 hour search network.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice study, there are about 58,200
children abducted each year by nonfamily members with about 45% of those
incidents being perpetrated by strangers. Further, the study found
that there are approximately 115 “stereotypical kidnappings” each year.
These are cases in which the child is transported 50 or more miles, held
overnight, held for ransom or with the intent to keep the child permanently,
or killed. Team Adam responds to cases such as these in which a child
is at greatest risk of harm.
Interviews with Families
Team Adam has the support of families across the country whose lives
have been tragically touched by abduction including: Ed and Lois Smart,
parents of Elizabeth Smart (Utah); Erin Runnion, mother of Samantha Runnion
(California); Sharon Brooks, mother of Tamara Brooks (California); John
and Magi Bish, parents of Molly Bish (Massachusetts); Patty Wetterling,
mother of Jacob Wetterling (Minnesota); and Colleen Nick, mother of Morgan
Nick (Arkansas). Interviews with these families can be arranged in
their respective states. Please call NCMEC Media Relations Manager
Joann Donnellan for set-up at 703.837.6388 or 703.966.1990.
About the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation was established in December 1999
by the Dell family to help address the growing needs of children.
The organization’s giving philosophy is based on a hierarchy-of-needs,
recognizing the most basic of human needs – food, shelter, health, etc.
– must first be met before children can realize their full potential.
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 has access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC),
the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), and operates
a national network linking NCMEC with law enforcement through 50 state
clearinghouses. Created in 1984, NCMEC has aided law enforcement officials
in the search for over 87,000 missing children. More than 71,000
children have been returned to their families as a result. For more
information about NCMEC, call 1-800-THE-LOST or visit www.missingkids.com.
Contact: NCMEC, Tina Schwartz, 703-837-6111
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