Date: June 07, 2002
Contacts:
Renee Hoffman
CCPS Public Affairs
(919) 733-5027
(ext. 231)
| For Release: Immediate
Date: June 07, 2002 |
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Contacts:
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NC CAN PROGRAM RESULTS IN RECOVERY OF ABDUCTED CHILD |
RALEIGH - The first ever use of North Carolina's Child Alert Notification System (NC CAN) resulted in the recovery yesterday of an abducted Franklin County child and the arrest of the babysitter who allegedly took her. The NC CAN system is similar to the emergency alert system, used to alert the public during adverse weather. Local police or sheriff departments fax information to a participating radio station concerning the search for an abducted child. The radio station then interrupts their program with an alert tone, and broadcasts specific information about the child and possible abductor.
The system was developed by the N.C. Center for Missing Persons, which is part of N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, a division within the N.C. Department of Crime Control & Public Safety.
Yesterday, the parents of 18-month old Jade Creech of Franklin County reported her missing. The Franklin County Sheriff's Department notified WRAL-FM and WRAL-TV, members of NC CAN, who broadcast the announcement. Shortly thereafter, Teresa Odell called the sheriff's department and said she had the baby in Johnston County. Odell had been babysitting Jade. Franklin County Sheriff Investigator Lt. Patrick Green said Odell told him a friend who heard the report contacted her and told her she needed to turn herself in.
"The NC CAN system worked just the way it was designed to," said John Goad, Director of the N.C. Center for Missing Persons. "The information got very quickly from investigating authorities to the public. The citizens can serve as the eyes and ears of the police in cases like this."
WRAL-FM (101.5) is one of several radio stations participating in the NC CAN system. Another is WWGP-AM/WFJA-FM radio in Sanford, which is tied in with law enforcement agencies in a four county area (Chatham, Moore, Harnett and Lee).
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For more information on this story, please call any of the following persons:
John Goad, N.C. Center for Missing Persons - 1-800-522-5437
Robert Redmond, Franklin County Sheriff - (919) 496-3332
Ardie Gregory, General Manager, MIX 101.5, WRAL-FM - (919) 890-6101
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