2002 Nat'l Missing & Exploited Children's Awards Honor Tenacious Investigators, Courageous Kids; John Walsh, Jamie Lee Curtis Attend

5/23/2002

From: Joann Donnellan, 703-837-6388; jdonnellan@ncmec.org or Tina Schwartz, 703-837-6251; tschwartz@ncmec.org, both of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- On Capitol Hill today, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) pays tribute to several top cops and brave children who helped recover missing children.

Investigators will also be lauded for combating child pornography and apprehending child sex offenders. The Congressional Breakfast and Seventh Annual Awards Ceremony recognizes a number of cases that received national attention. Hosted along with members of Congress, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice, the ceremony is observed this week in honor of National Missing Children's Day, May 25, which was first proclaimed by Ronald Reagan in 1983.

"Each of these award winners has demonstrated remarkable investigative skills, teamwork, and perseverance in solving some of the most horrific crimes against children," said NCMEC President and CEO Ernie Allen. "Their tireless efforts show unyielding dedication to their jobs and to protecting children."

The special tribute will feature John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," and father of Adam Walsh, whose abduction and murder set off a national movement thereby playing a central role in the creation of NCMEC in 1984. "These winners are true heroes and role models for others. We need more persistent investigators and eagle-eyed children like those honored today," declared Walsh.

Celebrity guest Jamie Lee Curtis will also attend to speak about her passionate child protection efforts with Blue Oval Certified Ford Dealers.

2002 National Missing Children's Award Winners:

The recovery of Anne Sluti Undersheriff Michael Sargeant and Sheriff William Barron of the Lake County (Mont.) Sheriff's Office, Special Agent Douglas Schreurs of the FBI's Grand Island, Neb., office, and Officer Tony Cordova of the Kearney (Neb.) Police Department will be presented with awards by Congressman Tom Osborne (Neb.) and Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) for the successful return of Anne Sluti. Anne was kidnapped while walking to her car at a nearby shopping mall in Kearney, Neb. She was held for seven days and was taken more than 900 miles before investigators were able to negotiate her captor's surrender in Montana. Anne and her father will attend.

The recovery of Lindsay Shamrock Inspector April Hindin, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami, Fla., Detective Sargeant Gary Klinger & Detective Charlie Gates, Jr., Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office will be awarded for the safe recovery of Lindsay Shamrock. The teenager who was lured through the Internet from her hometown outside Tampa, Fla. to Greece. She was abducted by a German national who was arrested and charged with child abduction and exploitation of a minor. Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.) will recognize the officers for their tireless actions in the successful search for Lindsay. Lindsay and her mother will attend the ceremony.

The recovery of Alexandria Gallagher Detective Scott Botkin, Bethany (Okla.) Police Department and Officer Sean O'Connor, Brackenridge (Pa.) Police Department will be will be presented awards by Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.) for their persistence in the search of Alexandria from Oklahoma to Colorado. Alex was abducted by her paternal grandmother and missing for five years. Alexandria and her mother will attend.

2002 National Exploited Children's Awards:

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program will be honored by Rep. Kay Granger (Texas) for their extraordinary work in dismantling the largest known commercial child pornography enterprise ever uncovered. Known as "Operation Avalanche," the two-year investigation successfully brought down a husband and wife team that operated a company offering Web sites hosting child pornography.

Detective Rodney Mosher of the Salt Lake City Police Department will be honored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) for his hard work in rescuing and identifying numerous child victims and for capturing a notorious pedophile in Seattle.

Special Agent Bruce Bennett of the FBI's Seattle office, Detective Shanon Anderson of the Seattle Police Department and Detective Jeff Vortisch of the Beaufort (S.C.) Police Department will be honored by Rep. Jim McDermott (Wash.). The investigators will be awarded for their persistence and thorough investigative skills in capturing a renowned pedophile.

2002 Courage Awards:

NCMEC will present Courage Awards to Keisha Riegert, an eagle-eyed second grader from Cape Girardeau, Mo., who helped to recover 4-year-old Abram Dickey after discovering his picture at a Wal-Mart store, and to eight-year-old Lorelei Trujillo, from Irving, Texas, whose keen memory and curiosity helped recover Gabrielle Shulman after she recognized her friend's picture on an ADVO card. All of these children will be attending with their parents. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (Mo.) and Bernice Johnson (Texas) will participate in these award presentations.

2002 Code ADAM Award:

This year's Code ADAM Award is being presented to the President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, the Honorable Antonio Fas Alzamora, for his leadership in implementing Code ADAM, a child safety program, in all public buildings in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Generous support from the following companies made the 2002 Congressional Breakfast and Seventh Annual National Missing and Exploited Children's Awards possible: Honorary Committee Chairs -- AOL Time Warner, Inc., Blue Oval Certified Ford Dealers, Computer Associates International, Inc., Tyco International Ltd. Honorary Committee -- ADVO, Inc., American Student List, LLC, Canon U.S.A., Inc., EDS, Eastman Kodak, The Home Depot, Inc., Kroll Inc., Miles & Stockbridge, P.C., National Research Center for College & University Admissions, Rent-A-Center, Inc., Mr. Mark Sirangelo, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., TRW Systems, United Airlines, Inc., Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive. Lodging was provided as a courtesy of the Holiday Inn Select and video services were provided through "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back."

------ NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Serving as the national clearinghouse for information and a resource center for child protection, NCMEC has worked with law enforcement on 81,796 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of 65,047 children.