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NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday
September 22, 2009 |
Contact:
Public Relations Department
(703) 837-6111
[email protected] |
74 FAMILIES OF MISSING CHILDREN TEAM TOGETHER TO PROVIDE HELP AND COMFORT TO OTHER FAMILIES WITH MISSING CHILDREN
Families from 64 Cities and 30 States Attend Team HOPE Training
at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
ALEXANDRIA, VA September 22, 2009 —The discovery of Jaycee Dugard has given renewed hope to many families of missing children throughout the nation. Seventy-four family members who have personally experienced the pain of a missing child have registered to attend training as a Team HOPE volunteer for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The training will take place on September 25, 2009 at the organization’s headquarters in Alexandria, VA.
Team HOPE, which stands for Help Offering Parents Empowerment, is a unique program that NCMEC makes available to families of missing or sexually exploited children. Team HOPE volunteers are family members of missing children or sexually exploited children. Volunteers are trained and after assisting other families for a year are invited for retraining.
The September program is a retraining program for Team HOPE volunteers. Attendees will travel from 64 cities and 30 states, and 2 Canadian provinces.
Seventy-four of those attending the training are family members of missing children. Included in the seventy-four are family members of 15 children who are currently missing (a list of those cases is attached). Also participating in the training is Doris Ownby, mother of recovered missing child Ben Ownby who was 13 when he went missing from Beaufort, Missouri in 2007. Ben was recovered after an intensive investigation which also located missing child Shawn Hornbeck who disappeared in 2002.
“Parents of missing and exploited children have suffered a great loss, perhaps the greatest their family will ever endure. They are members of a club that no one wants to belong to. Many of these families have spent decades looking for their children never giving up hope." Said Ernie Allen, President & CEO of NCMEC. “They are the only ones who can truly understand the pain other families of missing and exploited children are going through. Despite their own pain and suffering they want to help other families. This is a very unique program. It an example of extraordinary kindness, the strength of the human spirit and the power of hope."
Team HOPE is comprised of mothers, fathers, siblings and extended family members of missing or exploited children who volunteer their time and are trained to help other victim families. Volunteers are matched with families who have had similar experiences. Because of their personal experience Team HOPE volunteers are uniquely qualified to offer emotional support, compassion, guidance, empowerment and assistance in ways traditional community service agencies can not provide.
Since its creation more than 10 years ago, Team HOPE has trained more than 235 volunteers and helped more than 40,000 families. Candidates to become a Team HOPE volunteer are nominated from a variety of sources including: other active Team HOPE volunteers; law enforcement; state missing children clearinghouses; nonprofit organizations dealing with missing children issues; and some families contact NCMEC directly. This year the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children observes its 25th anniversary. NCMEC has played a role in the recovery of more than 138,500 children. Today more children come home safely than ever before. In 2008, NCMEC helped recover more children than any other year in the organization's 25-year history raising the recovery rate from 62% in 1990 to 97% today. And more of those who prey on children are being identified and prosecuted. Yet too many children are still missing and too many children are still the victims of sexual exploitation. There is much more that needs to be done.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline which has handled more than 2,400,000 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 142,000 children. The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 733,690 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 27,030,500 child *****graphy images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
MEDIA NOTE: Many of the family members participating in the training will be available to be interviewed during the lunch break. Any media interested in covering the Team HOPE training program or interviewing family members need to contact the Public Relations Department at (703) 837-6111 or at [email protected]. Participants in the training include family members of sixteen children who are currently missing. Information about these sixteen cases is attached. They include Non-family Abduction (NFA); Lost Injured and Missing (LIM); International Family Abduction (IFA) and 5779 (A missing child between the age of 18 and 21).
LIST OF FAMILIES OF MISSING CHILDREN WHO ARE PARTICIPATING TEAM HOPE TRAINING ON
SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
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| STATE |
VOLUNTEER NAME |
CHILD/CHILDREN'S NAMES |
CASE TYPE |
CITY |
MISSING DATE |
| AL |
Stringfellow, Betty |
Sherry Lynn Marler |
NFA |
New Brockton |
6/6/1984 |
| AR |
Nick, Colleen (Team Coordinator) |
Morgan |
NFA |
Alma |
6/9/1995 |
| FL |
Leonard, Marilyn |
Clifton |
LIM |
Lakeland |
8/22/1983 |
| IL |
Teague, Kathy |
Vinyette |
NFA |
Chicago |
6/25/1983 |
| KS |
Clasen, Dee |
April Wiss |
LIM |
Wichita |
1/11/2000 |
| KY |
Cotton, Wanda |
Randy Sellers |
NFA |
Burlington |
8/16/1980 |
| NY |
Lyall, Doug and Mary |
Suzanne |
5779 |
Ballston |
3/2/1998 |
| OH |
Culberson, Debbie |
Clarissa |
NFA |
Blanchester |
8/28/1996 |
| OH |
Schmidt, Pam |
Erica Baker |
NFA |
Kettering |
2/7/1999 |
| PA |
Murray, Lisa |
Jeffrey Lynn (sibling) |
NFA |
Harrisburg |
12/4/1985 |
| Quebec |
Temperton, Gwen Vatcher |
Melanie |
NFA |
Montreal |
9/21/1988 |
| TN |
Green, Donna |
Raymond |
NFA |
McLemoresville |
11/6/1978 |
| TX |
Saileanu, Tammy |
Isabella Saileanu |
IFA |
Cedar Park |
10/18/2001 |
| WA |
Pichler, Kathy |
Joseph |
5779 |
Bremerton |
1/5/2005 |
| WA |
Woody, Shawna |
Joseph Pichler (sibling) |
NFA |
Tacoma |
1/5/2005 |
| |
| NFA - Non Family Abduction - A child who is missing under cir****tances indicating that the disappearance is not voluntary and who has been abducted by a non-family member. |
| LIM - Lost Injured and Missing - When a child's whereabouts are unknown to the child's caretaker and the child is presumed to be lost or injured. |
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| IFA - International Family Abduction - when a child is concealed or transported out of the country by a family member with the intent to prevent contact or deprive the other parent of custodial rights. |
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| 5779 - a missing child between the age of 18 and 21 |
CASE SUMMARY FOR SIXTEEN MISSING CHILDREN WHO HAVE
FAMILY MEMBERS PARTICIPATING IN TEAM HOPE TRAINING ON
SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
- Sherry Lynn Marler hasn’t been seen since she was 12 years old in 1984. She went into the downtown area of New Brockton, AL with her step-father. He went to the bank and Sherry went to the store. Sherry never returned to the truck where she was scheduled to meet her step-father. (Sherry’s mother, Betty Stringfellow, will participate in the training).
- Morgan Nick was abducted from a little league ball game by an unidentified man on June 9, 1995, in Alma, AR. Morgan still missing, turned 20 on September 19th, 2009 (Morgan’s mother, Colleen Nick, supervises a team of volunteers and will participate in the training).
- Clifton Patrick Leonard went missing from Lakeland, FL when he was 16 years in 1967. Clifton had been diagnosed with teenage schizophrenia before his disappearance. He disappeared after leaving a friends home and may have met with foul play. (Clifton’s mother, Marilyn Leonard, will participate in the training).
- Vinyette Teague was just two and a half years old when she went missing from Chicago, IL on June 25, 1983. She was last seen in the hallway outside her apartment. Vinyette turned 26 this past June. (Vinyette’s mother Kathy Teague will participate in the training).
- April Wiss was 16 years old when she went missing from Wichita, KS. April’s roommate woke the morning of January 11th, 2000 to find April missing. Her purse and belongings were in the apartment, but April had disappeared. (April’s mother, Dorothy Clasen, will participate in the training).
- Randy Lee Sellers disappeared from Burlington, KY on August 16th, 1980 when he was 17 years old. Randy went to the Kenton County Fair with his friends that evening, and has not been seen since that night. (Randy’s mother, Wanda Cotton, will participate in the training).
- Suzanne Lyall was a 19 year old college student and working part time at the local mall when she went missing in 1998 from Albany, NY. Suzanne has not been seen since 3/2/1998 when she left work and went to the bus stop to return to her dormitory. (Suzanne’s parents, Doug and Mary Lyall, will participate in the training).
- Clarissa Ann Culberson on August 28, 1996, at the age of 22 Clarissa disappeared from her home. It is alleged that Clarissa met with foul play. Her boyfriend was found guilty of her murder, but Clarissa’s body has not been found. (Clarissa’s mother, Debbie Culberson, will participate in the training).
- Erica Baker was almost ten when she went missing from Kettering, Ohio on February 7, 1999. She was last seen between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. when she left the house to walk her dog. The dog was later found, but Erica has not been seen since. Erica turned 20 this past June. (Erica’s grandmother Pam Schmidt will participate in this training).
- Lynn Smith went missing from Hot Springs, AR in 1985 when she was 16 years old. She was last seen walking home from school. (Lynn’s sister, Lisa Murray, will participate in the training).
- Melanie Lynn Temperton was last seen on September 21, 1988 in Mascouche, Quebec, Canada when she was 20 years old. She phoned her mother to say she was staying at a friend’s house the night. It is suspected that Melanie met with foul play. (Melanie’s mother, Gwen Vatcher Temperton, will participate in the training).
- Raymond Green was abducted by an unknown woman on November 6, 1978 from Atlanta, Ga when he was 6 days old. The day Raymond went missing this unknown woman came to the home, when there other people going in and out. She took Raymond, walked out of the home and disappeared. (Raymond’s mother, Donna Green, will participate in the training).
- Isabella Saileanu was abducted by her father in Rumania at the age of 2 on September 18, 2001. Isabella was living with her mother in Santa Clara, CA prior to the abduction. (Isabella’s mother, Tammy Saileanu, will participate in the training).
- Joseph Pichler a childhood actor went missing at the age of 18 on January 5, 2006 from Bremerton, WA. His car was subsequently found with his cell phone and identification. Joseph remains missing. (Joseph’s mother, Kathy Pichler, and sister, Shawna Woody, will participate in the training).
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