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On the occasion of National Missing Children’s Day last weekend, the Missing Children’s Network held a child identification clinic at four Montreal-area shopping malls, including the Carrefour Laval. From morning until late afternoon on Saturday, a steady flow of families dropped by MCN’s booth, where officers with the Laval Police Department were also on hand to take children’s fingerprints for inclusion in identification booklets with photos of the children, to be kept by the parents.
Twice yearly
The MCN does the operation twice a year — in the fall, when children are returning to school, and in May just before the summer break. The I.D. booklet that is given to parents is a preventative tool they are told to keep handy in case their child should ever go missing. Apart from the fingerprints, other information such as the photographs are meant to be updated regularly since children grow and change quickly.
A steady flow
Only the parents get to keep the information recorded during the I.D. session. Neither MCN or the police keep any record. “There’s been a steady flow all day,” said Elizabeth Huerdler, an MCN worker who was overseeing the operation at the mall. “Last fall it was more busy, but this year maybe because of the beautiful weather outside there seem to be fewer people at the mall. But still we’re still seeing a lot of people.” Among the children I.D.’d during the day were a lot of babies, although there was also at least one teenager aged around 16 years old.
