Law Enforcement Honored For Bringing Home Missing Children, Combating Child Victimization; NCMEC Observes Missing Children's Day

5/17/2002

From: JoAnn Donnellan, 703-837-6388 or Tina Schwartz, 703-837-6251, both of NCMEC

News Advisory:

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Observes National Missing Children's Day With Families of Recovered Children, Law Enforcement and Leaders of Child Protection

Who: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the Fraternal Order of Police and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice will join members of Congress in hosting the 2002 Congressional Breakfast and Seventh Annual National Missing and Exploited Children's Awards. Law enforcement from across the nation will be honored for their exemplary performance in recovering missing children and in apprehending child sex offenders.

John and Reve Walsh, parents of Adam Walsh, whose abduction and murder set off a national movement, and who played a central role in the creation of NCMEC in 1984, will be presenting awards. Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," will also be announcing one case to receive Officer of the Year distinction. Additionally, celebrity guest Jamie Lee Curtis will also attend and speak about her child protection efforts with Blue Oval Certified Ford Dealers.

What: National Missing Children's Awards will be presented to:

-- Inspector April Hindin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Miami, Fla., Detective Sargeant Gary Klinger and Detective Charlie Gates, Jr. of the Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office will be presented with an award for the safe recovery of Lindsay Shamrock, a teen girl abducted by a stranger from a rural area outside Mulberry, Fla. Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.) will recognize the officers for their tireless actions and unyielding dedication in the successful search for Lindsay. Lindsay and her mother will be attending.

-- Detective Scott Botkin of the Bethany (Okla.) Police Department and Officer Sean O'Connor of the Brackenridge (Pa.) Police Department will be presented with an award by Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.) for their persistence in the search of Alexandria Gallagher from Edmond, Okla. Alexandria and her mother will attend.

-- 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 an award by Rep. Tom Osborne (Neb.) for the successful return of Anne Sluti. Anne disappeared after walking to her car in a nearby shopping mall parking lot in Kearney, Neb. and being forcefully thrown into a car. Anne's disappearance and recovery gained national attention. Anne and her father will attend.

National Exploited Children's Awards will be presented to:

-- The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Dallas, Texas, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force will be honored by Rep. Kay Granger (Texas)(a) 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 Rep. Nick Lampson (Texas) for his hard work in rescuing and identifying numerous child victims and for capturing a notorious pedophile.

-- 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 agents will be awarded for their persistence and thorough investigative skills in capturing a renowned pedophile.

NCMEC will present a Courage Award to Keisha Riegert, a child from Cape Girardeau, Mo., who helped to recover Abram Dickey after discovering his picture at a Wal-Mart store, and another Courage Award to Lorelei Trujillo, a child from Irving, Texas, who aided in the recovery of Gabrielle Shulman after discovering her picture on an ADVO card. All of the children will be attending with their parents. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (Mo.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) will participate in the award presentations.

This year, the 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.

When: 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Thursday, May 23

Where: 345 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Why: Nearly 2,000 children are reported missing each day in the United States according to the FBI. NCMEC's mission is to assist law enforcement in finding missing children and in helping to prevent child sexual exploitation. NCMEC works with federal, state, and local law enforcement on a daily basis and recognizes their efforts through the annual awards, which take place near National Missing Children's Day, which is officially on May 25.

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."

(a) Invited