Using Social Media to Give Kids Back Their Names – Two years and counting with NCMEC’s “Help ID Me” Facebook page…
“We just thought…is there something more we can be doing for these kids?” Carol Schweitzer, a senior forensic case specialist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, knew that social media was going to change the way we search for missing kids, and could hold the key to identifying the more than 700 unknown deceased children on file with the center.
NCMEC’s Unknown Victim Identification Program was launched in November 2011 to assist medical examiners, coroners and law enforcement who are investigating the deaths of unidentified children.
Two years ago, the UVIP team decided to undertake the task of getting decades of images out to the public, from facial reconstructions to photos of clothing and jewelry found on young victims. They launched the Facebook page, “Help ID Me,” in April 2014 to bring the public into the search for the identities of deceased children…some of whom have remained nameless for decades.
“Up until 2014, we were really at the mercy of others to get these images out to the public,” said Schweitzer. There’s only so many pictures we could fit on a poster.”
The team was inspired by identifications they saw from other social media sites and decided it would be the perfect avenue to reach the wide audience they needed.
“We got really excited about the idea that a Facebook page could reach the people who may have known our kids…siblings, neighbors, childhood friends,” said Schweitzer.
What many people may not realize is how difficult it is to search for an unidentified child. Relying on reports of missing kids is not enough because many children are never reported missing. In fact, 38 percent of the kids NCMEC has identified weren’t reported missing. That’s an astounding number and one that underscores the difficulty of the team’s work. How do you search for someone you don’t know is missing?
Over the last two years, the UVIP team has assisted law enforcement in the identification of 34 children and they can tie at least seven of those IDs directly to social media.
“You never know what’s going to spark recognition,” said Schweitzer.
And so, the team will continue its efforts to find answers for the hundreds of kids still waiting to get their names back.
Check out the unidentified cases in your state and “like” the Help ID Me page at www.facebook.com/HelpIDMe
